Test Preparation > AP > Spanish
 See also SAT Subject History
 Test Date:  8AM, Tuesday, 05/08/12

The AP Spanish Language Test has grown significantly in the last few years, no doubt fueled by the rise of Spanish-speaking immigrants to the U.S.  Mixing a higher percentage of native language speakers with classroom-taught students has somewhat changed the overall statistical results of the test (the statistical table below reflects students who declare they are classroom taught only).   While there has been a significant falloff in the average test score in the overall group (3.61 to 3.12, from 2003 to 2007, improving to 3.32 by 2009), as well as the percentage of students scoring 4 or better (58% to 45%, improving to 51.7% in 2009), the scores for the classroom-taught group has remained relatively steady over the years, although relatively low with an average score in the 2.6-2.8 range.   The percentage of classroom-taught students scoring 4 or higher, has been growing since 2005 and now stands at 33.4% of the total, a nearly 12 point increase in five years  Some of the variability in some measures is likely due in part to changes in the exam content, as test authors struggle to reconcile the abilities of native and non-native Spanish speakers. ¹

Section 1 of the exam is the 30-35 question multiple-choice section measuring the student's listening and reading comprehension skills.  Section 2 is the free-response section measuring writing and speaking skills.   In Part A of Section 2, the exam  includes paragraph completions as well as formal and informal writing.   Part B measures speaking skills.  Here, the student is expected to carry on simulated conversation with a tape recording.  The last part of the test is a documents-based question (DBQ), where the student is expected to review several source materials and make an oral presentation based on a question.  ¹