Has anyone ever had a student take AP Spanish or know of someone who did?

[OnMyOwn]

My dd is supposed to take AP Spanish next year and the only post I can find after searching the boards is very discouraging. The person who posted said she knows two students who took it, one who was absolutely brilliant and had 5s on all his other AP exams, and they both got 2s on the exam. I've read of other people thinking their child might take it, but not much about actual experiences.

 

So, I knew this exam was tough, but is it really to the point that my dd should not bother if she is not a native speaker? I'm wondering if I should try to get her into an upper level Spanish class at the local university instead of attempting the AP exam.

 

I'll tell you, staying on a path with a foreign language and trying to take it through the AP level has not been easy. We've had so many roadblocks along the way, and I thought my dd was going to finally make it next year, but now I am wondering again.

[Matryoshka]

My dds both took the Spanish AP and both made 4's.  One took an AP class at the high school that I'll have to admit wasn't particularly aligned with the exam (it was essentially a Spanish Literature class - no test prep whatsoever, no grammar except in the context of writing papers).  Other dd eventually used same ps teacher with the Lit focus as a tutor.  I think if either one had spent a bit of time with an actual test-prep book they could have done better...

[OnMyOwn]

Thanks, Matroyshka! That is encouraging.

[Harriet Vane]

My daughter achieved a 4 on the Spanish AP. She took an online course with a tutor, so mostly lots and lots of grammar assignments, reading, and essay writing. Towards the end a Spanish teacher at the local high school showed dd a great deal of kindness and dd was able to join that class a couple times a week.

[OnMyOwn]

My daughter achieved a 4 on the Spanish AP. She took an online course with a tutor, so mostly lots and lots of grammar assignments, reading, and essay writing. Towards the end a Spanish teacher at the local high school showed dd a great deal of kindness and dd was able to join that class a couple times a week.

Good to hear. Thanks!

[merylvdm]

My daughter wanted to take it and her Spanish teacher had no prior experience but helped her as much as she could and she got a 3. And that was enough to give her 8 credit hours at the college she went to (Biola).

[OnMyOwn]

Thanks, Meryl! Eight credits is great.

[Mabelen]

It is possible to do well even if the student is not a native speaker; after all, many public and private school students take the exam and do well enough. Having a competent teacher who is proficient in Spanish is vital to do well.

My college daughter attended public school. There was an AP Spanish teacher who had a reputation for being tough but whose students did extremely well in the exam, regardless of linguistic background. The year my daughter was to take AP Spanish, that teacher declined to do that class. The school scrambled to find a different teacher for it, another teacher also declined to do it. In the end, someone else stepped up but soon enough it was clear that she was nowhere near the quality of the previous teacher. She had no experience, and was not fluent enough to give rigorous and accurate feedback on essays. That year, the only students who did well in the exam were the heritage and/or native speakers. My daughter got a 5 but that was because I basically told her that, as a native Spanish speaker with a modern languages degree from Spain, I was much better qualified than her Spanish teacher to edit her essays and help her prepare. There should be a lot of growth in that year and, with the right teacher and resources, you can do it. Good luck!

[Insertcreativenamehere]

I personally didn't take AP Spanish, but I took 4 years of Spanish in high school and took CLEP tests to test out of the first two years of Spanish in college, receiving credit for those introductory classes towards my Spanish minor. 

[Matryoshka]

My daughter wanted to take it and her Spanish teacher had no prior experience but helped her as much as she could and she got a 3. And that was enough to give her 8 credit hours at the college she went to (Biola).

Not all unis are so generous. At the school dd is thinking of transferring to, 4 or 5 on a language AP gets you out of four semesters of language level-wise (100 & 200 level), but they only give you credit for the last two semesters (200 level) - just six credits.

 

ETA: And the same school refuses to give any credits for a language CLEP at all, no matter how well you scored on it. They really are stingy stinkers. Another school in the same state system gives 12 credits for a good language CLEP... I guess the key is always check the school.

Edited December 1, 2016 by Matryoshka

[Plateau Mama]

My daughter took AP spanish last year (as a sophomore) through Laurel Springs and got a 5. She said The curriculum was basically a year long AP exam.

 

That being said, she skipped the second semester of Spanish 2 and first semester of spanish 3 (moved up at the semester). Self studied Spanish 4 over the summer and tested out of it. So some of it may just be her being a natural at languages.

[Mabelen]

Not all unis are so generous. At the school dd is thinking of transferring to, 4 or 5 on a language AP gets you out of four semesters of language level-wise (100 & 200 level), but they only give you credit for the last two semesters (200 level) - just six credits.

 

ETA: And the same school refuses to give any credits for a language CLEP at all, no matter how well you scored on it. They really are stingy stinkers. Another school in the same state system gives 12 credits for a good language CLEP... I guess the key is always check the school.

Yep. At my daughter's college, she did get general credit for her AP Spanish score, but in order to actually get out of the foreign language requirement, she had to take a placement exam there.

[RootAnn]

Interesting. Just checked out the public uni in our state. Clep score of 56 on the Spanish Level 1 & Level 2 tests gives you 3 credits. I can't tell if you get placed into Span 202 or you get out of Span 202. (Either way, you only get awarded 3 credits. It says "equivalent to course Span 202.)

AP score of 4 gets you 3 credits & gets you out of Span 201. An AP score of 5 gets you 6 credits & gets you out of Span 201 and Span 202. 

 

At another (cheaper) Uni nearby, an AP score of 3 (on either Lit or Lang) gives you 3 credits. A CLEP score higher than 63 gives you 12 credit hours. A CLEP of 50 or higher gives you 6 credit hours. (However, they have a note on their "credit by outside examination" page that says they won't give credit for any exams in subject areas the student is already enrolled in at the college level or in which college credit has already been granted. So, I don't know how this works in practice.)

 

Local college accepts an AP of 3 to give you 6 credits and places you into the 200-level classes. CLEP of 50 does the same as the AP of 3. CLEP above 63 gives you 12 credit hours and places you out of the first four semesters of Spanish language classes.

 

So, definitely different depending on the college!! I think most places prefer you take their placement test anyway, IF you are planning on continuing that language.