Foreign language advanced placement

In collaboration with the Office of Admissions and the Office of the Registrar, the School has established a process of awarding advanced placement credits for prior knowledge of a foreign language.

For example, students who place in a higher level course such as Spanish 203 in their first course at WSU, and receive a grade of B or better, can earn credits for Spanish 101 and Spanish 102.

Credits earned through AP and/or CLEP are subject to the lower division credit limitations (e.g., a maximum of 8 credits).

Language Placement Exam Information

You will need a valid WSU ID number, login and password in order to access the exam in the WSU system.

  • The exam is free; it is taken online without proctoring.
  • To avoid any technical issues, you should use the web browsers Chrome or Firefox.
  • Make sure the audio on your computer works; you will need it to complete the listening part.
  • You might need headphones or ear buds if you plan to complete the test in a public area.
  • The exam includes 4 parts:
    • A survey to gather your information
    • Three quizzes (grammar, listening, reading – consisting mostly of multiple-choice questions) that will determine your placement score.
    • A writing section that is not scored but will allow us to better assess your proficiency in case your score on the other three parts falls between two levels.
  • You must complete the entire exam in one sitting. If you leave the site, you will be able to re-enter, but your previous work will not be computed in the placement score.
  • You will have two hours to complete the exam, although it is likely that you will not need that much time.
  • At the two-hour mark, the test will shut down and you will receive a score based on what you were able to complete.
More information

Prospective Students

Find your personal admission counselor
Email Address van.admissions@wsu.edu
Phone (360) 546-9788

Current Students

Email Address van.casadvising@wsu.edu
LocationCollege of Arts and Sciences
Phone (360) 546-9620

Important Guidelines

  • When taking this placement exam, you should not receive any help of any kind, including taking notes during the test, and especially not using any translation apps or tools. Doing so might give you a higher score on the test, but if that score does not reflect your actual language proficiency, you could be placed into a course that is more advanced than your current ability to be successful in that course. The objective of this test is to determine enrollment in the language level course where you will be the most successful, not simply how high you can score.
  • To the same end, is is best not to guess when answering questions. If you do not know the answer to a question, that is – if you cannot make an informed guess, just choose the option “I don’t know.” But if you think you know the answer, even if you are not 100% sure, do answer the question.

Your Score

  • You will have access to the score upon completion of the exam by clicking on “Grades” in the CANVAS course space.
  • Your score will automatically be uploaded in the Test Score Area in myWSU.
  • Your score will expire in one year. If you do not enroll in the recommended language course within one year of the exam completion, the exam will have to be taken again to determine your proficiency level.

Spanish Placement Test

You will be prompted to enter your WSU ID number, login, and then self-enroll. You will then be directed to your WSU Canvas dashboard. Click on the relevant Canvas tile for your language.

Please email Shellynda Michalek, michaleksj@wsu.edu once you have completed the test for assistance with registering in the appropriate Spanish course.

Spanish Benchmarks

  • Total score 30 or below – SPANISH 101 is recommended
  • Total score of 31-59 – SPANISH 102 is recommended
  • Total score of 60-79 – SPANISH 203 is recommended
  • Total score of 80-93 – SPANISH 204 is recommended
  • Total score over 93 – Contact Shellynda Michalek for possible placement at the 300 level.

Earning departmental advanced placement credits

Students may earn up to 8 Advanced Placement Credits by placing into their first foreign language course at WSU above 101 and getting a “B” or better. The initial course must be the first course taken in that language at WSU.

Advanced placement courses earned through the School are not assigned a letter grade. Instead, they are assigned an “S” grade for satisfactory, and do not configure into the student’s GPA.

For example:

  • Take SPAN 102 (Second Semester Spanish) and get a B or better
    • Earn 4 credits for 102 PLUS 4 AP credits for SPAN 101
  • Take SPAN 203 (Third Semester Spanish) and get a B or better
    • Earn 4 credits for 203 PLUS 4 AP credits for SPAN 102 PLUS 4 AP credits for SPAN 101
  • Take SPAN 204 (Fourth Semester Spanish) and get a B or better
    • Earn 4 credits for 204 PLUS 4 AP credits for SPAN 203 PLUS 4 AP credits for SPAN 102
  • Take SPAN 308 (Fourth Semester Spanish) and get a B or better
    • Earn 3 credits for 308 PLUS 4 AP credit for SPAN 203 PLUS 4 AP credits for SPAN 204

*Spanish 307 is not open to native or heritage speakers without departmental permission

*AP Credits for Spanish 101 and 102 do not count towards the 17 credits required for the Spanish language minor