The Beacon School, NYC
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Foreign Language Department

Chinese

Yan Jiang yjiang@beaconschool.org

French

Daniel Guralnick dguralni@beaconschool.org
Scott McElveen smcelvee@beaconschool.org

Spanish

Laurie Adelman ladelman@beaconschool.org
Karen Cooper kcooper@beaconschool.org
Ines Marte imarte@beaconschool.org
Rachel Ratcliffe rratclif@beaconschool.org
Peter Senderowitz psendero@beaconschool.org

The purpose of Performance Based Assessments in Foreign Language is to demonstrate ability in all four areas of communication: reading, writing, speaking, and listening comprehension.

Beacon PBA Requirements:
At the end of Level II and III courses in French, Spanish, or Chinese, students will be responsible for a PBA. At the end of Level III of French or Spanish, students are responsible for writing a Final Project, speaking about their Final Project, and taking a written exam. Previous to classroom assessment week, students will submit the written component of the Final Project to their classroom teacher for a written grade, and then take a listening and reading comprehension exam during the last week of regularly scheduled classes.

During classroom assessment week, students will participate in an oral interview focusing on the written component of the Final Project. This will be a PBA spoken in the target language, such as an oral presentation, conversation, or impromptu question and answer period about topics covered in the class.

The 'Final Project' grade will consist of the total of the four grades, each worth 25%, for reading, writing, speaking and listening, and recorded in the Graduation Database.

To earn a Beacon School Diploma, students must successfully complete four semesters and up to Level Three of a single foreign language. Students are not required to complete beyond Level III of a Foreign Language, but Levels IV and V are an option, and AP courses (Level Five for Spanish and level Four for French) are offered. A score of 3 or higher in the national AP exam may yield college credit.

New York State Requirements:
You should be aware that although a state-issued high school diploma may be issued with only two years of a single language, many colleges and universities have admissions criteria that expect you to complete three years of a single language. Thus, it behooves you to be familiar with the expectations of the institutions to which you are applying. Additionally, Beacon School Diplomas are awarded only to those who have completed four semesters and up to Level Three of a foreign language.

Foreign Language Course Offerings

Course Code: Course Name: Teacher: Band Location:
apspis01AP Spanish Independent Study AdelmanX306