<p>Okay well it was not really an argument. I suppose you can call it a heated debate. Here goes..</p>
<p>Next year, my school is taking out AP French and AP Spanish for fourth year language students. Most kids in my grade are interested in applying to more competitive schools like Vanderbilt and Duke so we were upset that we would not have that AP class anymore.. instead they are changing it to "Honors Spanish/French IV." I talked to my Spanish teacher (who is the Spanish IV teacher and head of the forgien language department) about why they decided to take those classes out. She told me that you must have four years of that language or be a native speaker or you will fail the AP exam. I told her that did not make much sense because most high schools in the area and the country only teach three years of a certain language, then senior year you take the AP class. She told me that the AP language exam is impossible and the highest score I could probably get (being a non-native speaker and taking Spanish for only 3 years) is a two. I told my teacher the school should keep the AP languages and that she could help train us for the exam while teaching us necessary material. She still said we were going to fail. Well, we continued to argue about it until class was over. </p>
<p>I really don't understand what she means, but I was talking with my AP Biology teacher who told me that all the teachers at the school had to send an audit to College Board to be "certified" to be called an AP class. He thinks that the language department failed it. But my question is that do your schools have an AP language available your senior year? Or are those AP classes only taught after four years of that language (I guess some schools that are K-12 start a language in the 8th grade.. we learned Latin haha). Thanks so much!</p>
<p>We can only take AP senior year if we started in 8th grade. I agree that you need 5 years. I transfered school districts so can't take any AP languages.</p>
<p>I'm going to have to agree with your teacher. Most in my school take AP as their fifth or sixth year. If you really want to take the AP can't you just self-study?</p>
<p>yes, we have both french and spanish as AP's for any year (if you're qualified). i only took 3 years of spanish (i took AP spanish lang my junior year---third year of leaning), took the test, and got a 5, and i don't know what you teacher's talking about.
i agree with your bio teacher...it seems pretty low to lie about it to students, though...</p>
<p>Hmm... AP audits are very real. A good number of my teachers are doing them this year. It's quite possible your school's foreign language department failed and the teacher didn't feel like sharing that.</p>
<p>Requirements for AP Foreign Language at my school are 3 years of that language (ie. completing the highest level before it) or special permission from the department head.</p>
<p>Our school requires us to make it through French 3, then lets us into AP. Some people skip French 2, which leads to 2 years before AP, and they're actually the ones who do better on the exam. =P. Spanish has the same process.</p>
<p>I'll let you know how it works out come July, but practice tests were saying 3+ for about 3 or 4 of us in a group of 10. =)</p>
<p>Well, it's definitely not good to argue with your teacher, but I think you're right. I've been met with the same crap at my school about history ("Nobody takes AP World History or European History. I don't even think those are APs. Even if they are, any sophomore who takes an AP can't handle it.")...</p>
<p>Anyway, you can definitely DEFINITELY take the exam after 3rd year Spanish. My school is pretty weird, but we after Spanish 3 (Regular or Honors):
- Spanish 4
- Spanish 4 Honors
- Spanish 5
- AP Spanish </p>
<p>My friend is actually taking it next year as a junior b/c she was accelerated, you have to be recommended for each class, but that's mostly to weed out obvious cheaters.</p>
<p>My school requires 4 years of a language before the AP class...I don't see a problem with it. </p>
<p>Most students start their first year in 7th grade (I did that but quit after Spanish 3 in 9th grade), so it's possible to take an AP language starting in 11th grade (and with 4 previous years of the language under your belt).</p>
<p>AP French and Spanish Language are available at my school for seniors only. In my town, people start taking foreign languages in seventh grade, so by the time they get to an AP, it's their sixth year. I moved from another town that started foreign languages in sixth grade, so I have an extra year. Even then, depending on the quality of instruction, the AP test can be tough.</p>
<p>Our school's passing rate on the AP French is much better than the national average, but at the same time, it doesn't have quite the success as other APs like AP Bio and AP Chem. A lot of people still fail the exam after six years of the language. But then again, those people tend to be the slackers who never put in an ounce of work into learning the language in the first place.</p>
<p>If your foreign language department failed the AP audit, they were not preparing you to do well on the AP exam. My english teacher passed and she is retarded; we do absolutely nothing. At my school, we start languages in 8th grade and people still usually get only 3's on the AP test. So yea, there's a good chance your teacher is right.</p>
<p>The AP class is available for the third year at my school. Couldn't you just self-study if it's really that big of an issue? I think that there is a good chance your foreign language department failed the AP audit (since apparently few of the students were getting high scores).</p>
<p>There is no such requirement at our school. But of course, the students who stay in our districts start a foreign langauge in 7th grade, and by the time we reach 11th grade, we should've reached level 4, when we could take an AP Spanish/French/Italian language (and/or Spanish lit) in 12th grade. Only native speakers get acceleration.</p>
<p>Japanese and Sign Language can only be started in high school, so no AP is offered here. Although students can try for a regents (NY state test).</p>
<p>I think your completely right! At my school, French 4 is AP French lang and Spanish 4 is AP Spanidh lang. People think it's a hard class, but everyone does fine (except french where the teacher is horrible and had a failing AP test rate of 99%).</p>
<p>hahah thanks everyone for replying! i know its not good to argue with the teacher but i've known the lady most of my life so it's kind of like arguing with my mom. anyways i never realized that i can study AP's by myself. where would i take my test if my school doesn't provide it?</p>
<p>At my school all the tests are taken at a local college. You may take yours at a nearby school or college. Your counselor or AP coordinator will tell you where to go.</p>
<p>AP language classes are the generally the fifth year of a language. Your teacher is right, the AP exams are nearly impossibly if you are not fluent.</p>