ACTFL

Applicants seeking certification in a world language may meet the testing requirement by presenting qualifying scores on the Praxis II Content Assessment for the specific language or by presenting qualifying scores on the American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) and the Writing Proficiency Test (WPT) for that language.

World language graduates of approved teacher preparation programs are not required to take the Praxis pedagogy test 5841. The requirement is only for candidates completing certification through transcript analysis or alternative preparation programs.

World language students must complete either the OPI and Praxis II Content Knowledge or the OPI and the WPT. Candidates taking Latin have an exemption from the OPI and WPT exams. MSDE has yet to set a cut-off score for Italian due to the low number of program completers. Students taking Italian complete the OPI and WPT, an approved alternative.

To meet ACTFL requirements, UMD candidates MUST achieve specific scores on the OPI that exceed MSDE's requirements: UMD candidates must speak in the interpersonal mode at a minimum level of "Advanced Low" (French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish) or "Intermediate High" (Chinese) on the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI).