By Rebecca Danvers

On May 4, 2015, 19 Somerville High School Latino students sat in the school’s state of the art virtual World Language lab to take the grueling three and a half hour newly designed AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam.

After one year of studying Spanish in the newly created Spanish for Heritage Language Learners course, the students were now about to have their knowledge, skills, and perseverance tested by the AP Spanish Language and Culture exam, which measures the student’s abilities equal to that of a fifth semester college course. To do well on the exam requires not only Spanish language comprehension and literacy, it also requires a high level of fluency in writing and knowledge of culture and history.

The exam is divided into various parts: students were first to read authentic readings with two sources; one print source, and a second source which contained a table, chart, or graph. Students then responded to very challenging multiple choice questions which required them to draw conclusions, make inferences, and interpret tone and attitude. The next part asked students to listen to several authentic audios, all of which were spoken by native speakers of Spanish who may be from any country in the Spanish-speaking world, and respond to another series of very challenging multiple choice questions.

Next, they read an email message and wrote a response to the email using a minimum of 125 words while using correct register. Students had only 15 minutes to read the email and write a response. This was followed by a persuasive essay. Students were asked to read two written sources and listen to one audio source, and then write a persuasive essay of a minimum of 250 words. This task had to be completed in 45 minutes.

The next two sections of the exam were ‘free-response’ sections. Students participated in a simulated telephone conversation with a native speaker of Spanish and answered five questions based on the prompts. Students had to master the art of improvisation since the same prompts were used for all students taking the exam nation-wide. Finally, the students were faced with the most difficult task of all. They were presented with a written cultural comparison and were then given only 4 minutes to prepare a 2-minute oral presentation answering the cultural comparison question. The cultural comparison was between their community, Somerville Massachusetts, and a community in a Spanish-speaking country.

More than 100,000 students from across the United States took this exam in May. Mr. James Nocito, the Somerville Public Schools K-12 World Language Supervisor, reported that not only did all of the 19 Somerville High School students pass the exam, but the 19 students averaged a score of 4.4 out of 5. This means that every SHS student who took the AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam will now receive college credit in Spanish. Mr. Nocito added, “This is truly remarkable given that many students who take the AP exam, which is scored on a scale from 1-5, score below the qualifying score of 3 which is required to earn college credit.” Mr. Nocitoapplauded his students and those of Ms. Serena Steele who taught the Spanish Heritage I Honors class, for having what he called the ‘ganas’ or the ‘will’ to succeed.

“Just because a student speaks Spanish by no means does this guarantee that the student will pass the AP exam,” he added. “Each and every student demonstrated drive, passion, perseverance, and resiliency.”

This past summer, Mr. Nocito wrote the AP Spanish Language and Culture course syllabus. The syllabus was approved in August by the College Board, which means that the course may now officially be called an “AP” level course. Mr. Nocito has requested that the course be renamed AP Spanish Language Culture and that it be reflected as such on the student’s transcript and weighted in their GPA accordingly. This year, 28 students are enrolled in the course.

Somerville High School graduate Delmy Hernández, who took the course last year, wrote the following reflection about her experience taking the class.

Education is the key to success. We have all heard this said multiple times. In order to ensure a great future we must work to educate ourselves.

Taking Spanish this year has been more than sitting in an ordinary classroom with a teacher who lectures and gives exams. I remember the first day my classmates and I came into the classroom. We were ready for a Heritage class; we were not ready for an AP class! When our educator, Mr. Nocito said that we would be taking the AP exam in May, we were all shocked and thought he was crazy. Mr. Nocito believed in us, but we did not believe in ourselves at that point. It may have taken us a few months to feel confident that we, TOGETHER, would do great on the exam.

Even though most of the students in the class were Hispanic, there was one who was not. This student, who spoke Portuguese, made the choice to go beyond her limits. Together, my classmates and I all accepted the challenge. We wanted to not only take the exam but to CRUSH the exam! Catherine Márquez, who took the class last year as a junior said, “Although every class was challenging, we all pushed one another to do well and most importantly, ace the AP exam!”

It is very important to know where we all come from because that has led us to where we are. Many people did not believe in us. But here was one man who believed in all of us; Mr. Nocito encouraged and motivated us every single day.

Even though we had the goal of crushing the exam, we accomplished so much more. This class, for many, has connected us to our countries. Even though we are so far away, we were able to connect through literature, essays, emails, and cultural events which in turn made us feel closer to our native country.

Delmy Hernández earned a five on the AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam and is currently attending UMass Boston.