<p>@Consolation,</p>
<p>Yes, this is in California. Too many students are fluent in Spanish, Korean, Chinese, etc. This is exactly the reason, why school doesn’t care. School says that they don’t plan to accommodate everyone. </p>
<p>Foreign language or Fine Arts. Everyone, who is not using the standard path to learn second language, is welcomed to join fine arts. </p>
<p>Sorry, I was not clear in my posts, thus confusing everyone.</p>
<p>HS graduation requirements have 2 years of EITHER foreign language OR Fine Arts. </p>
<p>In other words, a students may take Fine Arts classes and be excused from taking second language in school. All other arrangements with the second language (community college, placement test, AP exam, SAT, etc.) are up to student. </p>
<p>Again, have you asked the Spanish Dept to assess your D?</p>
<p>IMHO, allowing her to place out of the first 3 or 4 years of Spanish and go straight to AP is hardly an accommodation at all. </p>
<p>@mathmom,</p>
<p>Our school has TOO MANY heritage speakers, mainly in Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Russia, Hebrew, etc. This is exactly the reason, why school doesn’t want to be flexible. Otherwise, they would have to accommodate half of students :)</p>
<p>All they have to do is place them in the right year. That’s nothing. Have them take the final of the last year they want to skip. Voila.</p>
<p>This makes me appreciate our local HS all the more. When we told the head of the language dept in passing at an event that S–who was coming over from the jr high to take French II–wanted to start Spanish in 9th grade, she SUGGESTED that he might want to skip Spanish I and could do so if he studied some Spanish over the summer and took the final at the start of school. She had him talk to the Spanish I teacher, and they gave him a textbook and a list of chapters that were essential to cover. She also set him up with an incoming AP Spanish senior for a little tutoring over the summer, so that he would have someone to speak the language with. (H and I both studied French.) Then they later made special arrangements so that he could do AP French Lit, as I mentioned above.</p>
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</p>
<p>When I was in high school, they intentionally scheduled the honors sections of English, math, and foreign language at all levels such that each subject had a specific period, so that if a student (particularly in math or foreign language) was more or less advanced than his/her peers, s/he would not have schedule conflicts because of that. I don’t see why that is a difficult problem for the school.</p>
<p>Note that, even without heritage speakers, some students started in a more advanced level than level 1 due to junior high foreign language courses.</p>
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</p>
<p>What high school is this? Placing heritage speakers in higher level courses of their heritage languages (if they are even offered, since high schools often struggle to offer more than Spanish, French, and maybe Mandarin Chinese) is not a difficult problem to solve, and is essentially cost-free to the school (instead of having to have an extra section of Spanish 1 to allow all of the bored heritage speakers in, they can offer an extra section of Spanish 4 or AP to put appropriately placed heritage speakers in).</p>
<p>In fact, it should save money to give the heritage speakers a higher placement, because there is always attrition at the higher levels causing some classes to get smaller and less cost-effective. I am not too impressed by this school. Even our school, which has some idiotic policies, offers both specific classes and acceleration options for heritage speakers, and this is not even a large hispanic area. How hard is it for the language teacher to speak for a few minutes with a kid, or give them an exam, and suggest a placement?</p>
<p>This whole thread is confusing. The student can take Spanish 1 or French 1 or Someotherlanguage 1 or Fine Arts, but is too good to take Spanish 1?</p>
<p>Then for heaven’s sakes take French and stop wishing the school was different. They won’t offer Spanish 4 or Java 1 or any native American language in the time slot and that’s that.</p>
<p>BTW don’t underestimate the AP exam, for a heritage speaker who mostly uses English, and doesn’t much read or write in Spanish, it may not be easy.</p>
<p>I think that part of the problem is that the D doesn’t want to start another language in school. It sounds as if she wants to skip both language and arts in order to have an empty slot in which to take a programming course. </p>
<p>Of course, I don’t understand that either, since at our HS kids could double up in a subject area–taking, IIRC, 7.25 courses (the fraction being lab)–simply by sacrificing study halls. Maybe this school has block scheduling or something.</p>
<p>The communication here leaves something to be desired. Which may be part of the problem on the other end.</p>
<p>Sorry for the confusion,</p>
<ol>
<li>My D. knows Spanish</li>
<li>She is planning to take Fine Arts to satisfy school graduation requirements.</li>
</ol>
<p>To satisfy college admission requirements, she has to know second language. She can
<p>What is better for college admission? What looks better on the application form?</p>
<p>A heritage speaker taking the beginning (level 1-2) high school courses would probably look worse than all other options (including starting in an appropriate higher level high school or college course, or taking a different language starting at level 1).</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus Thank you!</p>
<p>One option might be not to take the language now, but take the AP when she’s a senior and it presumably fits into the school’s idea of a proper schedule. I think colleges would be more impressed by taking a college class or AP + a college class than just passing the AP, SAT or a placement test. They might be even more impressed by her learning a third language. </p>
<p>@mathmom
“I think colleges would be more impressed by taking a college class or AP + a college class than just passing the AP, SAT or a placement test.”</p>
<p>Thank you very much.</p>
<p>OK. Decision is made. </p>
<p>I’ll try to sign her for some college class. </p>
<p>I would like to thank everyone for your help and advices.</p>
<p>To answer the question briefly:
for highly selective colleges with admission rates under 20-25%, the answer is
1° take the AP exam (preferably Spanish Lit) after some self study, and/or SAT Subject. SAT Subject score should be an 800. AP Spanish Lit should be 4-5.
+
2° take a college course or, preferably more, above the AP level freshman and sophomore year, which will be put on CommonApp.
+
3° study the language of her Native American ancestors independently. Preferably find a way to demonstrate the skills gained.</p>
<p>An applicant taking the SAT Subject and scoring 800 + taking a college course as a freshman/sophomore in high school would make adcoms ears ping.
(It would also be faster for your daughter and would complete her UC language requirement without her having to take languages in HS).</p>
<p>Then, when they’d see she self studied her Native American ancestors’ language to ZZ proficiency, they’d be very very happy your daughter applied to their college. I’m talking of all the universities and LACs ranked in the top 20 with holistic review here. That combination is a winner.</p>
<p>Caveat: the test score is not enough - your daughter needs to demonstate what she can do in an actual advanced course. However, it’ll be time well invested: “freshman in high school taking a college course” is always going to interest adcoms at any college.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, as UCBAlumnus said, probability of college success is best demonstrated by success in college classes. Even if the HS won’t record the classes, it totally doesn’t matter. She can ask the registrar to mail the transcript directly to the colleges where she’s applying. (In addition, If she takes 3-4 semesters of post-AP, college-level Spanish, she’ll be well on her way to completing a minor.) In addition, if she takes CS in HS, she could then take college classes in CS (or whatever else she started in HS and is very good at) at the same college. </p>
<p>Seriously Californiaa, Ivys have their radar up for kids manipulating their records to get them into Ivy’s. Possibly hiring a college counselor can mask that, but I’m starting to worry (well, actually not that much, but if I were you…) that the Ivy’s are going to see your kid as one who’s goal is to “getinto In Ivy.” Not a good long term goal.</p>
<p>If that’s what you really want, I’d suggest shelling out the bucks to hire the counselor who can make it happen. Face it, CC is all aover the map, and IMO, you do not have the expertise for this.</p>