AP Spanish Language Examination Petition

To: Gustavo C. Fares, AP Spanish Development Committee Chair

We the undersigned urge to postpone the changes that will be made to the Advanced Placement Spanish Language Examination beginning in May 2007 that were approved by the AP Spanish Development Committee in November 2005.

These changes seek to radically alter the format of the examination without giving the teachers and students who will be affected, a reasonable time period in order to properly prepare. In addition, text book publishers are struggling to meet deadlines in order to supply teachers with examination copies of materials so that purchasing decisions can be made early this spring. Some publishers have even expressed doubts that they will have materials prepared in August. This will force many teachers to utilize outdated materials simply because newer materials will not be available in time for them to make their textbook purchasing decisions that must be made before school ends in May or June.

We believe that the amount of time that has been given to prepare for these changes is simply too short. We were originally promised that we would be made aware of the changes in early 2005, but no final decisions were made until later in the year. This gives us as teachers roughly 18 months to prepare for the new changes. When one considers that no materials are currently available to help teachers prepare for these changes, and it is possible that these materials will not be available until the new school year begins, it even shortens the amount of time that teachers have to prepare for offering the new course. We see no reason that the changes need to be implemented on such a shortened time table; in fact, we believe that by making the changes too quickly, we are doing a disservice to our students.

As teachers we are proud of our Spanish programs and the students we teach. We spend countless hours preparing materials and planning lessons in order to help our students achieve the maximum level of success on the exams. By implementing these changes without giving us sufficient time for preparation of lessons and by not having sufficient materials, the College Board is severely undercutting the efforts we have worked so hard to achieve.

We believe in raising the bar and challenging our students. We agree that the new exam will accomplish this task. We do not, however, believe in handicapping them due to a lack of proper materials or preparation. If we as teachers are unprepared to offer the course beginning in August, our students will be unsuccessful when they take the exams in May 2007. We strongly request that you reconsider the 2007 examination year to implement these changes.