![Bass Clef Choir members Zion Ondoma, Henry Hansen, and Zerik Nicholson harmonize vocals while singing "Prayer of the Children". “[It’s] a piece dealing with the Bosnian conflicts of the ‘90s,” said Associate Director of Choral Activities Matthew Jensen, “but is applicable to what's happening today all over the world.” The students will perform the song during Large Group Contests in Cedar Falls in May.](https://riverhawkpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20260414_111618-1200x554.jpg)
MCHS German students are taking their chance at the Seal of Biliteracy. Over the years, it has not been an easy test to pass.
”I would say ten [students] have taken the German test,” said MCHS teacher Laura Grommesh, “Only one passed all four tests, so far. We Germans pass all tests but speaking. And then we are always close.”
The test consisted of four parts: reading, listening, writing, and speaking. Fifteen students took the series of tests this year, and they have mixed thoughts about the difficulty.
“Don’t take it,” said Tayla Lewis, a junior.
”That was actually the worst test I’ve taken in my life,” said another junior, Jordan Roehl.
Senior Caden Beenken said, ”It was very hard, and I was very unprepared.”
Some students were more confident with it.
“It was a lot more simple than I thought it was going to be,” said Junior Merin Teeter, “It reminded me of the ISASPs, but if I were an elementary German student.”
“I am a lot better at listening and understanding German than I thought I was,” says Jackson Squier, a junior.
Passing the Seal of Biliteracy can account for four years of any language class. The results are respected by many colleges and universities, requiring no further language classes be taken on campus. Results are going to take two weeks to be officially released, and retakes will occur closer to the end of the school year.
The Spanish Biliteracy Test will be held the week of March 23rd.
