{"id":4881,"date":"2025-09-01T09:00:44","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T09:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/?p=4881"},"modified":"2026-02-03T23:02:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T23:02:10","slug":"asl-aappl-a-groundbreaking-actfl-assessment-for-american-sign-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/asl-aappl-a-groundbreaking-actfl-assessment-for-american-sign-language\/","title":{"rendered":"ASL AAPPL: A Groundbreaking ACTFL Assessment for American Sign Language &#8211; LTI Blog"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.actfl.org\/assessments\/k-12-assessments\/aappl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages (AAPPL)<\/a> for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/asl-aappl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">American Sign Language (ASL)<\/a> is launching this fall, bringing the trusted ACTFL\u00ae gold standard to ASL for the very first time. The test was developed in collaboration with d\/Deaf and hearing ASL experts and educators from across the country, as well as psychometricians and ACTFL\u2019s Assessment and Research team, to ensure appropriateness of content, inclusiveness in all test resources, and test validity and reliability. The ASL AAPPL offers learners, educators, and institutions a research-based, culturally responsive, and interactive way to evaluate learners\u2019 performance toward proficiency in American Sign Language.<\/p>\n<p>Available in Form A and B and designed for learners in grades 9-12, the ASL AAPPL can support:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Seal of Biliteracy qualification<\/li>\n<li>Benchmarking and tracking growth over time<\/li>\n<li>ASL course placement in higher education<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Introducing American Sign Language (ASL) for the AAPPL\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4sEy8dHpnj8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3><strong>What sets the ASL AAPPL apart?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>It is the first ACTFL assessment to measure Interpersonal Interaction (II) and Receptive Comprehension (RC) in ASL, and the <em><strong>only<\/strong> <\/em>ASL test on the market that issues ACTFL scores, the gold standard in language credentialing.<\/li>\n<li>Developed for those who are d\/Deaf, Children of Deaf Adults (CODAs), and world language learners of ASL, the AAPPL offers ASL users the opportunity to demonstrate their linguistic abilities and earn an AAPPL credential.<\/li>\n<li>ASL AAPPL is fully accessible to all learners. As with the AAPPL in spoken languages, specific accommodations are available through the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/k-12-test-accommodations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">standard request process<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Developed through an extensive multi-phase, collaborative test design process, the ASL AAPPL ensures linguistic accuracy, instructional relevance, and cultural and visual integrity at every step.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Construct and Test Specification Alignment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>ACTFL\u2019s internal test development team ensures each item aligns with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.actfl.org\/educator-resources\/actfl-performance-descriptors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>ACTFL Performance Descriptors<\/em><\/a><em>, <\/em>the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.actfl.org\/uploads\/files\/general\/World-ReadinessStandardsforLearningLanguages.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>World-Readiness Standards<\/em><\/a>, and AAPPL test specifications. Content is reviewed for level consistency, bias and sensitivity, age appropriateness, and clarity.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pedagogic Review<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Currently practicing ASL educators conducted external reviews to ensure the test reflects best instructional practices and proficiency targets and avoids bias, providing real classroom value. ASL AAPPL has been built in collaboration with Deaf and hearing ASL experts and educators across high school and university settings to ensure that the test is linguistically accurate, culturally responsive, visually accessible, and reflective of how ASL is used in real-world communication.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Language Review<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>ASL content is reviewed specifically for accuracy, idiomaticity, cultural sensitivity, and alignment with real-world ASL usage, ensuring that what learners see on screen appropriately reflects the language as it is used by users of ASL.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Production and Performance Accuracy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Because ASL is a visual and spatial language, multimedia production is carefully guided by d\/Deaf and hearing ASL users, language experts, and media experts to ensure clarity, accuracy, and cultural appropriateness. For instance, gestures, facial expressions, spatial references, lighting, and colors, among many other factors, are evaluated carefully in test production.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Iterative Development<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The ASL AAPPL is the product of ongoing collaboration between ACTFL\u2019s Assessment and Research team and ASL educators and experts from high school and university settings. Test items are piloted, reviewed, and refined to meet the highest standards of assessment validity and reliability. As with AAPPL in spoken languages, ASL content will be regularly reviewed and refreshed.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>A New Era for ASL Assessment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>With fully accessible test directions and a design informed by both academic rigor and community expertise, the ASL AAPPL brings the ACTFL gold standard to the ASL assessment.<\/p>\n<p>It provides students with more than just a score. It provides recognition of their language skills, opens pathways to the Seal of Biliteracy, and gives educators actionable insights to support instruction and placement.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The AAPPL is available through Language Testing International\u00ae (LTI), the exclusive licensee of ACTFL.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Ready to learn more and bring the ASL AAPPL to your school? <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/contact-us\/sales\"><strong>Contact<\/strong><\/a><strong> us today!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages (AAPPL) for American Sign Language (ASL) is launching this fall, bringing the trusted ACTFL\u00ae gold standard to ASL for the very first time. The test was developed in collaboration with d\/Deaf and hearing ASL experts and educators from across the country, as well as psychometricians and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":4882,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[183],"tags":[80,283,528],"class_list":["post-4881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic","tag-aappl","tag-american-sign-language","tag-asl"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/shutterstock_2042178074-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4881"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5383,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4881\/revisions\/5383"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetesting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}