• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Professional Educator Standards Board

A-Z Topic Index

facebook logoteal twitter iconyoutube logo
  • Home
  • Educator pathways
    • Educators of the Deaf and visually impaired
    • First peoples’ language, culture, and oral traditions certification
    • Alternative routes to teacher certification
      • Find an alternative route program
    • Becoming an educator
      • Find a preparation program
      • Find an endorsement offering
    • Recruiting Washington Teachers (RWT)
      • RWT curriculum and resources
      • RWT reports
  • Current educators
    • Assignment
      • Educational staff associates
      • Endorsements
      • Teacher
    • Certificate renewal
      • Clock hours
      • Educational leadership
      • Educator standards, SEL, CCDEI
      • Equity-based school practices
      • Government-to-government relations
      • Professional growth plans (PGPs)
      • Providers for educational leadership and equity requirements
      • STEM integration
      • Suicide prevention training
    • Human resources
      • Educator conduct
    • District workforce data
    • Educator shortage
  • Preparation programs
    • Approval
      • Become a new program
      • Change an approved program
      • Course approval
      • Offer an endorsement
    • Review
      • Initial review
      • Curriculum and instruction review
      • Indicator-based review
      • Program review results
    • Standards and requirements
      • Educator assessments
      • Endorsement competencies
      • Field placement plans
      • Instructional topic requirements
      • PEAB
      • PGP for program completion
      • Program standards
      • Role standards
    • Support for Educator Preparation Programs
  • Paraeducator program
    • District implementation
      • Paraeducator training reimbursement
    • Minimum employment requirements
    • Program components
  • Resources & reports
    • Reports
    • Data portal
    • Handouts
    • Online learning
    • Professional Learning
  • Innovation to policy
    • CCDEI standards
    • Equity initiatives
    • “Grow Your Own” Initiative
    • Innovation archive
    • Workgroups
      • Advancing equity workgroup
      • Computer science specialty endorsement
      • Educational interpreters for the deaf
      • Educator professional growth
      • Fundamental Course of Study Workgroup
      • Interveners for the DeafBlind
      • Professional educator collaborative
      • Standards, Approval, and Review (SAR) Committee
    • Grants & pilots
      • Advancing equity grant
      • Alternative routes block grant
      • Educational Interpreter Grant
      • ESD alternative routes grant
      • Expanding computer science for elementary educators
      • “Grow Your Own” Pilot Program
      • LEADER initiative
      • Multiple measures pilot for the edTPA
      • Recruiting Washington Teachers – Bilingual Educators Initiative
      • Recruiting Washington Teachers
      • Teaching equity grant
    • Legislative affairs
      • Legislative updates
  • About us
    • Contact us
    • COVID-19 guidance
    • News
    • Rule making
    • Strategic plan
    • Job opportunities
    • Board meetings
      • Previous Paraeducator Board meetings and materials
      • Previous PESB meetings and materials
    • Who we are
      • About the Professional Educator Standards Board
      • About the Paraeducator Board

July 7, 2025

Newly added language proficiency assessments

Newly added language proficiency assessments

The Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) approved adding Avant and ALTA assessments to the list of accepted language proficiency assessments. Now, in addition to ACTFL, these assessments meet requirements for candidates seeking to add Designated World Languages or Bilingual Education endorsements. The Board also recently updated the passing score on the ACTFL.

The following memo has information on these new assessment options, the associated passing scores, and how Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) can offer these new assessments to candidates.

LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY ASSESSMENTS

Below is a summary of acceptable language proficiency assessments and passing scores:

Avant

Any of the following Assessments  Passing Score
STAMP 3S 7 or higher on all sections
STAMP 4S 7 or higher on all sections
APT (Arabic Proficiency Assessment) 7 or higher on all sections
STAMP WS 7 or higher on both parts

ALTA

All of the following Assessments  Passing Score
Speaking and Listening (IVR or Online) ILR Score of 2 or higher
Online Writing ILR Score of 2 or higher

 

ACTFL 

All of the following Assessments  Passing Score
Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) Advanced-Low
Writing Proficiency Test (WPT) Advanced-Low

HOW TO SET UP AN ACCOUNT WITH AVANT AND/OR ALTA TO OFFER ASSESSMENTS TO CANDIDATES

Several Washington IHEs already have accounts set up with Avant and ALTA.  Institutions that do not have an account with Avant or ALTA can establish accounts with Avant and/or ALTA, and make these assessments available to teacher candidates enrolled in their programs.

If your IHE has an account with Avant or ALTA and will allow individuals who are not students with the IHE to register for these assessments, please contact Jason Profit at PESB at jason.profit@k12.wa.us. Jason is interested in publishing a list of IHEs that current educators or out-of-state educators could utilize if they need to demonstrate language proficiency for either of these endorsements.

Avant 
STAMP Getting Started  Website to begin getting Avant set up at your IHE
Avant.WA.HE@avantassessment.com  Email for any questions from an IHE
Digital Badge For individuals who are not connected with an IHE

 

ALTA
New Account Setup  Website to set up an account with ALTA
Portal Demo Video Demonstration of Portal Access

QUESTIONS?

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

The Professional Educator Standards Board at PESB@k12.wa.us

Jason Profit at jason.profit@k12.wa.us 

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

  • About us
    • Who we are
      • About the Professional Educator Standards Board
      • About the Paraeducator Board
    • Board meetings
      • Previous Paraeducator Board meetings and materials
      • Previous PESB meetings and materials
    • Contact us
    • COVID-19 guidance
    • News
    • Rule making
    • Strategic plan
    • Job opportunities

Footer

Seal of the state of Washington

Professional Educator Standards Board

Old Capitol Building
600 Washington Street SE
Olympia, WA 98504-7236

PESB@k12.wa.us
Paraboard@k12.wa.us

(360) 725-6275

STAY UPDATED

Sign up with your email address to receive news and event information.

Copyright © 2025 · Staff Intranet