The National Spanish Exams are online standardized assessment tools for grades 6-12, voluntarily provided by more than 3,800 teachers across the United States to measure achievement and proficiency in students who study Spanish as a second language.
Exams can be used as a motivational competition for students, as well as for assessment.
The National Spanish Exams are a motivational competition to recognize student achievement in the study of Spanish and stimulate further interest in teaching and learning Spanish. Prior to the pandemic, approximately 150,000 students took the exam each year.
Outstanding students and faculty are eligible for prizes such as scholarships and travel. NSE also offers the National Portuguese Language Examination (NPE), the National Spanish Language Assessment (NSA), and the National Spanish Challenge (NSC) for primary school students.
History of National Spanish Exam
NSE is an AATSP program. Founded in 1917, the American Teachers’ Association of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP) is the oldest, largest, and most complete professional association in the United States.
The 10,000 members are elementary to graduate students who support the mission to promote, develop, and promote the teaching of Spanish, Luso-Brazilian, and related languages and cultures in the United States and other countries.
Along with other programs. Publications and projects of the association each year, AATSP holds an annual conference in the United States or in a Spanish-speaking or Portuguese-speaking country.
ALSO CHECK: How Hard is it to Learn Spanish in 2023
Who is the National Spanish Exam for?
If you enroll in a Spanish course, there is a chance that you will take the national Spanish exam at some point in the school year.
Your teacher may have already registered your class for this. The National Spanish Language Exam is an online assessment tool for students in grades 6-12.
They design the exam to measure the performance of students who study Spanish as a second language. Sounds refined, but in essence, the mission of the National Spanish Language Exam is to recognize student achievement and promote proficiency in Spanish.
National Spanish Exams date
Teachers can administer NSE from March 1 to April 15. To choose the right test date, each school must count 10 weeks back from the last school week of the school year and conduct testing during that week.
Due to the difference in school closing dates across the country. The 10-week countdown allows all students to have the same amount of study time before taking the national Spanish exam.
Schools on the spring block schedule, where one year of traditional study ends in one semester, must take the exam 5 weeks before the end of the school year, provided that the test is completed by April 15.
How is National Spanish Exam taken?
National Spanish Exams has contracted with Quia Corporation to deliver practice exams and online exams.
To pass the exam, each student must have a personal computer with Internet access. Each computer station must have:
- Sound to complete the listening sections of the exam and
- A set of headphones so that students can hear the audio part of the exam. (If there are not enough headphones in schools, ask students to bring headphones, which should work with most computer systems.)
- A browser that does not translate the page automatically. Click here for instructions on how to turn off translation features.
All computers that will be used by students to take the national Spanish exams must be tested in one of the online exams.
The online practice should be completed long before the test date. This is to allow time to correct any technical problems with the software and/or hardware.
NSE does not refund hardware and/or software that does not work properly on the day of testing. Because the national Spanish language exams have the same hardware and software requirements as the online practice exams. There should be no problem with the actual exams if there are no problems with the practical exams.
What is the cost of the National Spanish Exam?
Participation in the national Spanish exams is an advantage of AATSP membership. Teachers must pay contributions for the current year to participate in the national Spanish language exams at the rates for AATSP members.
Anyone who is not a member of the AATSP runs a national Spanish language exam and pays $75. This cost covers the administrative costs associated with each teacher, regardless of the number of exams he/she takes.
There is also a fee for each participating student. The price includes the national fee and an additional fee per section.
Each teacher can register only those students who are currently enrolled in his/her class(es). To ensure that students are enrolled in the enrolled teacher class. The department coordinators and the NSE National Office reserve the right to require each participating teacher to submit an official class list signed by the administrator.
ALSO CHECK: 15 Best Skytech gaming PC for Students & Adults in 2023
How to check national Spanish exam results
Results for all modules are available at once. To get results, teachers must:
- Log in to your Quia Teacher account.
- Click “Quiz” in the upper left corner.
- Open the qualification test folder for all levels one or the qualification test for all levels for which you want to view the results.
- Click ‘Results Reports’ for the correct module.
- Review the results as desired.
If you need visual instructions, click here for class and student results
How to register for the national Spanish exam
To take the test, your teacher must register you online. You have to enroll in their class. Remember that exams do not correspond to the exact course or lessons of the teacher. Instead, they indicate a certain level of qualification in your class.
For example, if you are studying in a Spanish language class for beginners. Your teacher will most likely register for the 1st level exam. If you are in an advanced class, your teacher may enroll you at level 5 or level 6. It depends on your teacher.
Be sure to ask your teacher to REGISTER ONLINE, as you can choose between two exam options:
Professional qualification exam at all levels – the qualification level exam gives the teacher the opportunity to predict a certain level of proficiency between lower and upper secondary. This type of test is a great option for students who have a more advanced level (Advanced Spanish III, Spanish IV, and above).
Special Level Exams – Special level exams allow students to work on a specific area by providing information about their results. This may include conclusions and definitions of the main idea of the text.
How to prepare for national Spanish exam
Your teacher usually takes practice exams before the actual test. It recommends that students use online practice exercises during the school year to improve concepts such as interpretive communication when it comes to reading and listening to Spanish.
Teachers use the national Spanish exam as a tool to prepare students for other standardized tests and college entrance exams. If you are good at NSE, you can apply the same teaching methods to other exams, such as AP or SAT tests, and in the process of entering college.
Taking a hands-on test helps reduce the risk of problems on the day of the test, such as technical problems with your computer or test. Ask the teacher to give students time to take the practical online exam of last year’s exam.
What is the prize of national Spanish exam?
At the national level, students receive medal placement (gold, silver, bronze, honorable mention) based on their scores and are eligible to apply for several types of scholarships (Global Citizen Scholarship, Junior Study Abroad Program, Senior Scholarship). For a nominal additional fee, students can also compete in the local chapter/state contest to win additional awards and