My son, incoming Senior in High School, took Spanish 1 over the summer at local JC. He was told that 1 year of College level Spanish = 2 years of High School FL and would fulfill requirement for college applications. He received a D, but was told the class would be considered an AP/Honors course and grade would be bumped up one…can you confirm or shed some light? Just trying to determine if he has what he needs for application process, looking at CSU campus.
Thanks for your input and help.
This is from the UC website:
Does UC grant extra grade points for a grade lower than C in an honors course?
No. Grades of D/F are not assigned extra honors points. We assign extra grade points for up to eight semesters (with no more than 4 semesters from 10th grade courses) of UC-certified honors-level, AP, IB or college/university courses taken in grades 10, 11 and 12 in which the student earned a grade of C or better.
Basically it is saying that even if the course is considered an “honors” course, the D will not be given extra points to make it a C or passing grade. The FL course requirement is not fulfilled unless he retakes the class for a C or higher.
I would double check this, but it is no different than taking a Honors Spanish or AP Spanish class in HS and getting a D.
My question to you is about the foreign language requirement.
He’s an incoming senior and he wants admission to a CSU?
Did either of you know about the foreign language requirements to be admitted to a California public university?
My understanding is that taking Spanish I, over the summer, does not take care of two years of foreign language. It takes care of two semesters of HS Spanish. Most student take 3 or more years of a foreign language to be competitive for admission.
His D grade won’t really count, so how will you do a minimum of 2 years of foreign language in less than a year? Most schools don’t look at Spring grades. Apps are due in the Fall.
@aunt bea and OP, my understanding is the same as @aunt bea posted above. Spanish 1 at a CC (1 semester= 2 semesters at the HS level). The foreign language requirement can be fulfilled at a CSU/UC (2 years) by the following:
SAT Subject Examination
The following scores satisfy the entire requirement:
Chinese With Listening: 520
French/French With Listening: 540
German/German With Listening: 510
Modern Hebrew: 470
Italian: 520
Japanese With Listening: 510
Korean With Listening: 500
Latin: 530
Spanish/Spanish With Listening: 520
AP or IB Examination
Score of 3, 4 or 5 on the AP Exam in Chinese Language and Culture, French Language and Culture, German Language and Culture, Italian Language and Culture, Japanese Language and Culture, Spanish Language, Spanish Language and Culture, Spanish Literature and Culture or Latin;
score of 5, 6 or 7 on an IB Language A2 HL exam
@Gumbymom, the concern is how that Spanish course will translate to satisfying the requirement when the D isn’t showing competency in the language?
I agree that since it is an a-g course requirement, the D cannot be used to satisfy any part of the requirement, unless he takes Spanish 2 and receives a passing grade of C or higher.
The D, however will remain as part of the GPA calculation unless repeated.
From UC website:
When a student has successfully completed advanced work (earning a grade of C or better) in an area of sequential knowledge, the student is presumed to have completed the lower-level coursework. Validation can occur with just a semester of higher-level coursework. For freshman applicants, validation applies to courses in mathematics and languages other than English only.