The following proficiency guidelines have been established by the World Language Department of Mounds Park Academy. These guidelines are based on the Proficiency guidelines adopted by the American Council on the Teaching of World Languages (ACTWL). 
We hope that establishing such proficiency guidelines will help to inform students and parents of what may be expected of students after completing the grade 1 through 12 World Language program at MPA.

 Please note the distinction between the terms ACHIEVEMENT and PROFICIENCY: 

• Achievement is the empirical measure of knowledge acquired of a given segment or portion of the language. It is usually determined by testing, and it can be graded. 
  
• Proficiency is a measure of the person’s functional ability in using the language. Oral proficiency is rated based on the ability of the person to use the language in normal everyday situations. It is not always linked to achievement. 
  

Proficiency is rated according to the following scale (adopted by ACTFL): 

• Superior
• Advanced 
• Advanced-Plus 
• Intermediate 
• Intermediate-High 
• Intermediate Intermediate-Mid 
• Intermediate-Low 
• Novice 
• Novice-High 
• Novice Novice-Mid
• Novice-Low 

These ratings are ranges, not discrete points along a line, since they include stronger and weaker performances. A speaker receives a rating based on his/her level of consistent functional ability. It is our goal to have our most motivated and responsible students acquire an Intermediate-Mid level of oral proficiency. Those motivated students who complete the language courses at upper levels of our curriculum can be expected to attain a rating of Intermediate High or perhaps Advanced.