9th Grade Placement Criteria

All students enrolled in a World Language during the 8th grade have the opportunity to be placed in levels II or III of their chosen language as incoming freshmen.  Students also have the choice of selecting a different language than the one studied in 8th grade.  Students who chose to continue with the study of the same language will adhere to these criteria.  Only students averaging 90% or higher in the first and second marking periods will be considered for placement in levels II or III of the chosen language.

All placement decisions are made according to the department criteria below.  Placement in level III is reserved for students who not only meet the criteria outlined below, but also demonstrate an increased level of comfort in a 100% target language immersion setting.  Students are expected to successfully apply the literacy skills learned in the target language addressing all domains of language (listening, reading, writing and speaking), as well as the three language modes as defined by ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages).

criteria

Extracted from ACTFL 

Placement Criteria

In-class assessments:  These assessments comprise all teacher-developed spoken and written assessments, unit tests, and department-developed common assessments.  All assessments are designed to mirror what is taught in the world language classroom.  All Hillsborough Middle School language courses have a strong focus on oral production.

Placement exams:  These assessments comprise diverse content aligned to the 7th and 8th grade curriculum.  Developed by Hillsborough High School and Middle School world language teachers, these assessments are aligned to the department levels I and II expectations. All placement tests are administered in the month of February.

Teacher Recommendation:  Your child’s 8th grade language teacher will be asked to provide a recommendation for 9th grade placement based on all the available data.  In addition to the academic achievement of each student, teachers are also asked to provide a recommendation based on the following categories:  ability to sustain meaningful interpersonal dialogue with peers and teachers, quality of target language production, work habits, motivation, and maturity level.

Should you have any questions regarding the language assessments for your child, please contact your child’s teacher.  If you have any questions regarding these criteria, please contact the World Languages Supervisor at [email protected].