Spanish Credit Exams

The credit exam form may be filled out at the student's academic college or obtained by emailing the Department of World Languages, Literatures & Cultures at worldlang@lsu.edu.

This site is designed to be used by prospective, first-year, and continuing students, parents, LSU counselors, and anyone else who needs to learn more about Spanish credit exams. For information regarding credit exams and placement for other languages and general placement guidelines, visit the Foreign Language Credit Exam Information page.

Who Should Test

It is strongly recommended that students who have taken at least two years of Spanish in high school take the Spanish credit exam in the Office of Assessment & Evaluation. Specifically, students have the opportunity to earn up to four semesters (i.e., 14 semester hours) of credits in introductory Spanish language courses via Spanish credit exam. These semester hours may count toward a student’s foreign language requirement and/or General Education Humanities requirement as appropriate (please check with your academic advisor to confirm whether the credits will count toward a degree program).

Students will only be allowed to take the Spanish credit exam once unless there is a computer failure at the testing center. 

SPAN 1152 is a high beginner language course and is suitable for students with two years of high school Spanish. SPAN 1152 covers the same material as SPAN 1101 and SPAN 1102 in one semester instead of two. Once a student completes SPAN 1152, the next scheduled course is SPAN 2101. SPAN 1101 credit will also be awarded upon successful completion of SPAN 1152 with a “C” or better.  Students may begin their lower-level Spanish courses in either SPAN 1101 or SPAN 1152, regardless of their background in the language.

Transfer and graduate students may schedule Spanish courses for which they have the necessary prerequisites. 

If a student doesn’t receive credit from the credit exam, the student will receive an NC (no credit) notation on the transcript for the lowest course tested. For example, if a student took the credit exam for SPAN 1101 and 1102 and did not receive credit, the student will receive a NC (no credit) notation only for SPAN 1101 on the transcript. If the student receives some credit from the exam (i.e. received SPAN 1101 credit and placed into SPAN 1102), the student will not receive the NC no credit notation.

A student, after taking the Spanish credit exam, places into SPAN 2101 or SPAN 2102 will be awarded advanced standing credit based on the credit exam score. Criteria outlined in the following chart shows how students are placed in Spanish courses and awarded advanced standing credit:

 

Native speakers of Spanish are not permitted to take the credit exam or schedule courses below SPAN 2155. Students with the PR (Puerto Rico) state code are considered native speakers of Spanish. To learn more about eligibility requirements, please visit the Foreign Language Credit Exam Information page. 

Test Description 

The Spanish credit exam is multiple-choice and covers grammar, reading, and vocabulary. It is an adaptive exam which means the question difficulty will vary depending on how a student responds. Do not get discouraged if you are unfamiliar with some of the material. Make your best guess and go on to the next question.

Test Guidelines / Location

• The test will take 20 – 25 minutes.
• Students may NOT use books, notes, or any other materials or resources. However, students will be asked to provide an ID card/ID number on the day of the exam.
• The Spanish credit exam is administered at The Center for Assessment and Evaluation, 51 Himes Hall, throughout the year. You may take the exam remotely upon request with the testing center.

Scoring

At the end of the exam the student will receive a score and suggested placement. The program will automatically archive the score; there is no need to write it down or save it. If you do not see a score, go back and sign in to WebCAPE again and click on resume  to complete your test. If you have problems contact one of the proctors who administered the exam.

Testing Procedures

First-year, transfer, or continuing students can take the exam by following these instructions:

1. Visit your academic college to ask for the form Request To Take Advanced Standing / Proficiency / Credit Exam. 
2. Obtain the approval signature from World Languages, Literatures and Cultures after receiving academic college counseling about taking the test.
3. Report to the Office of the University Registrar, Room 112 Thomas Boyd Hall, to be assessed a $20 fee.
4. Report to the Office of Bursar Operations, Room 125 Thomas Boyd Hall, to pay the fee.
5. Return to the Office of the University Registrar with the payment receipt. You will receive a form to take to the appropriate department.
6. Report to the Center for Assessment & Evaluation, Room 51 Himes Hall, to be assessed another $20 fee and to confirm the day and time of the next Spanish credit exam. There is an extra $15 fee for remote assessments through ProctorU.

If you have any questions, please contact the Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures at 578-6616 or email us at worldlang@lsu.edu for assistance.