The Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest English Learners Research Partnership and the New Mexico Public Education Department collaborated with a large urban district in New Mexico to study the characteristics and college readiness of students who earned different types of biliteracy seals (state, district, and global seals), the number of students who met some requirements for a seal but did not earn one, and the effect of earning a seal on college outcomes. The study used data from three 12th-grade cohorts graduating between 2018 and 2020.  Results of the study showed that participation in any type of seal of biliteracy program were 10% more likely than other similar graduates to enroll in four-year colleges as full-time students.  Another notable aspect of the study was that graduates who earned any type of biliteracy seal were more likely to be Hispanic, to be eligible for the National School Lunch Program, to be a current English learner student, and to speak Spanish at home.

Source:  Language Magazine, July 2023, p. 11. For full details, see REL Blog | New Mexico’s Biliteracy Seal: A new study examines who earns biliteracy seals and whether earning a seal impacts college outcomes (ed.gov)