A.P.French Language and Standardization of all World Language A.P. exams

Dear Dr. Caperton, President, College Board

cc. Trevor Packer, Executive Director, College Board
Mona Mulhair, National Academic Elected Consultant Member
Thomas Matts, Director of World Languages Initiative, A.P. Program
Marcia Wilbur, Assoc. Director of World Languages Initiative, A.P Program
Kate Rabiteau, ETS Consultant
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We, the signers of this petition, have been teachers of French for many years, and have, for a long time, noted the negative difference between the results of the AP French Language Exam and those of other AP exams. In 2006, the percentage of those students who were successful in taking the AP French Language Exam (3 and higher) was 49\%, while the results for other disciplines were as follows: Spanish 55.8\% (standard group, excluding Native speakers), German 58.2\%, Latin 66.1\%, Physics B 60.4\%, Biology 61.1\%, Statistics 60.2\%. What is the reason for this difference? The purpose of this letter is to analyze the disparities between the French and Spanish AP language exams and to demonstrate the injustice imposed upon French students.

As a result, with the help of bi-lingual teachers, we have made a comparative analysis between the French and Spanish AP exams, available on the AP college board website or in the AP college board publications. The 2007 exam results will be compared in the future in order to take into account the new AP Spanish Language Exam.

The results of our analysis are as follows:

The listening section in French (AP 2003) contains 42(forty-two) questions to be answered in a 30-minute period. There are 20 exchanges and 3 dialogs. Subjects included are the automobile, television, and the city. Those topics are often long monotonous monologues ( instead of being sharp and interesting dialogues).

In Spanish, there are 31(thirty-one) questions to be completed in a 39-minute period. There are 3 dialogs, 2 narratives and 2 passages. Subjects included are school, birthdays, transportation, the weather, and film.

In the reading passages, the French exam (AP 2003), which is a language and not a literature exam, has 40(forty) questions based on 6(six) passages, several of which are excepts from 17th to 20th century literature, selected from Monde de lEducation, Nouvel Observateur, Musйes Nationaux, Figaro. They target a sophisticated audience.

In Spanish, there are 4(four) passages and 35(thirty-five) questions. The passages come from Cine Mundo and La Nacion.

The grammar section, in French (AP 2006,) contains 30(thirty) questions in the form of paragraphs. Fifteen (15) questions are on verbs; the remaining questions deal, for the most part, with prepositions and pronouns and are to be completed as fill in the blanks, with no suggested choices.

For example: Section II Part A, # 3, 4, 5
Tous ceux __1__ ont lu ce roman __2__ trouvent extraordinaire.
1._____ 2._____

The same section in Spanish contains only 20(twenty) questions. Ten (ten) are isolated sentences; the remaining questions are concerned with adjectives, nouns and articles, with multiple choices suggested in parentheses.

For example: Section II, Part A, #3, 4, 5
Sintiу los labios __1__ y la nariz dura y seca; se mirу sangre en __2__ manos y en la camisa, __3__ instantemente.

1. _____ (hinchado) 2. _____ (el) 3. _____ (y)

Please note that in all of the questions mentioned above (listening, reading, fill in the blanks), the French version contains 110(one hundred ten) questions while the Spanish version contains 85(eighty-five).

The composition sections have significant differences.
a) The topics in French (AP 2006) are much more complex and always contain several sub-sections.

For example: Topic #1: A lйcole et dans les autres aspects de votre vie, quelle est limportance de >? Prйfйrez-vous le travail en groupe ou le travail individuel? Pourquoi? Discutez en vous servant dexemples prйcis.
(In school and in other aspects of your life, what is the importance of cooperative effort? Do you prefer group work or individual work? Discuss this topic, using specific exemples)

Topic#2: Quel rфle la faзon de shabiller joue-t-elle dans votre vie? Pensez-vous quil existe une tyrannie de la mode?
(What role does the manner in which one dresses play in your life? Do you think that there is such a thing as a certain tyranny of fashion?)

The topics in Spanish, however, are less complex.

For example: (translation) What are the advantages and disadvantages of an exchange program?

b) The length of work varies as well; in French, it is recommended that students write a composition with the following directions: With a normal handwriting which does not exceed 1 (one) page, an essay cannot receive a grade higher than 5 , while in Spanish, it is recommended to write only 200 words (with a normal handwriting, the essay can therefore be less than 1 (one) page).

Regarding the oral section, the two formats are very different. It is difficult for us to judge the quality of each. In French, there are 2 sets of pictures and a total of 5 questions with 1 minute for each response, thereby allowing a total of 5(five) minutes.

In Spanish, there is one set of pictures with 5 questions and 20 seconds allotted for each and 1 question with 2 minutes response time allotted, for a total of 220 seconds, or 3(three) and one half minutes.


Please note that in its entirety, the French exam lasts 160 minutes for 115 questions and a composition, while the Spanish exam lasts 185 minutes for 85 questions and a composition.


We would also like to stress the fact that students who take the AP French Language Exam usually begin the study of French at the secondary level, while, conversely, a very large number of students who take the Spanish exams often begin their studies in their elementary classes, in many states and/or in private schools.

Therefore, at a time when the College Board offers AP exams in German, Spanish, French and Italian, and, soon, in Chinese and Japanese, a standardization of exams and of scoring guidelines appears to be essential.

We wish to promote French and we wish above all to support the students who choose to study French. Why should we penalize them? Why should we discourage the continuation of their French studies at the university level? Ultimately, they are the ones who validate our efforts as teachers, at all levels. The AP French Language Exam conflicts with the directives and the criteria recommended in the curriculum standards of many states, and the ACTFL guidelines. These directives give priority to communication and to critical thinking.



French teachers as well as French students should no longer be victims. We are not asking that you give our students 5s. But, faced with such glaring inequities, we - French teachers - are very concerned about the viability for the future of the study of French in the United States.

We respectfully request that the committee and the team for AP French kindly consider all of our grievances, and act accordingly, by establishing a standardization of AP Language exams for all foreign languages.


With most sincere regards,
















The following people should only get cc. letter


Cc. Pascal A. Ifri, AP French Committee Chair, Washington University; St. Louis, Missouri
Katherine H. Fair, AP French Committee Member, Philips Exeter Academy; Exeter, New Hampshire
Eliane Kurbegov, AP French Committee Member, Dr. Michael M. Krop High School; Miami, Florida
Christophe Lagier, AP French Committee Member, California State University Los Angeles; Los Angeles, California
Micheline Rice-Maximin, AP French Committee Member, Swarthmore College; Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Dr. James Day, Chief Reader, University of South Carolina; Columbia, South Carolina
Dorothy David, ETS Consultants
Joseph M. Hoffman, Esq. Westfield, N.J.