Placement Exam

All incoming students who have previously studied Spanish must take the placement test in Spanish. This includes students who are native or heritage speakers and students who are not sure to continue studying Spanish at Kalamazoo College. Students who wish to receive credit for language courses taken at another college or university must take the appropriate language placement test and test into a higher-level course than the one for which they are seeking credit. To fulfill the college’s language requirement in Spanish, students must either successfully complete the third quarter course (SPAN 201) or be placed into a higher course. Placement can also be determined by a student’s score on the College Board’s SAT II test or the advanced placement test in Spanish. Students with three or more years of high school Spanish may not earn graduation credit in SPAN 101. Only students who have never taken Spanish courses before entering or transferring to the College will be placed in SPAN 101. The Spanish placement exam can be accessed through the College’s Advising website.

Deadlines

Current Students:

If you need to complete the placement exam, you WILL NOT be able to register for Spanish classes. However, you have until 4th week of the current quarter to take it. These exams will be scored in 5th week, just in time to register for the next quarter. No exceptions will be made!

In-Coming First-Year Students:

Placement exams completed by June 15th will be scored before First-Year Registration in July.

Placement exams completed between June 15th and August 15th will be scored prior to Orientation week.

Any appeal of the placement test results should be directed to a Spanish faculty member.

Interpreting Language Placement

Language placement scores tell you which course you should take next. For example, if you have a Spanish placement score of 102, that means your next language course should be SPAN 102. A 5-digit placement score indicates a borderline placement; for example, a Spanish placement score of 10102 means that you placed somewhere on the borderline between SPAN 101 and SPAN 102.  Similarly, a placement score of 10201 means a borderline 102/201 placement, a score of 20203 means a borderline 202/203 placement, and a score of 20301 means a borderline 203/301 placement. 

If your placement was 10102, we make the following recommendations:

  • If you have been placed into 101/102 and have three or more years of language in high school, you should register for the 102 course.
  • If you have been placed into 101/102 and have fewer than three years of language in high school, you should register for the 101 course.
  • If you are not sure which course to take, register into the course that you think is more likely to be a good fit during the July registration period(*) and plan to make an appointment with one of our language faculty to help you further evaluate the best placement for your ability during orientation.

* If you have a borderline placement, the registration system will automatically allow you to register for the lower course; if you want to register in the higher course, call or email the Registrar’s Office (269.337.7204, regist@kzoo.edu) and we will adjust the system to allow you register in the higher course.

Advanced Placement (AP)

For students with an advanced placement (AP) score of 4 or 5, credit toward the B.A. degree will be awarded automatically upon admission to the college. Study must begin with SPAN 202 or above to receive credit in Spanish at Kalamazoo College. Students with AP scores of 3 may be granted the waiver of a prerequisite, but may not count an AP 3 for credit.

Advanced Placement (AP) Credit for the Spanish Major or Minor

An advanced placement (AP) score of 4 or 5 in Spanish language shall count as one credit toward the Spanish major or minor provided that the student take Spanish 203 or beyond as her/his first Spanish course at the college. Every student must take the Spanish language placement test. An advanced placement (AP) score of 5 in Spanish literature shall count as one credit toward the Spanish major or minor provided that the student take Spanish 203 or beyond as her/his first Spanish course at the college. In order to receive two credits toward the major based on AP examinations, the student must begin her/his coursework at or beyond the Spanish 301 level.