Placement and Proficiency Exams

For more information and links to the online Spanish placement exam, visit the OLRC's page on Placement and Proficiency Exams and follow the "French, German, Russian, or Spanish" tab.

Please enroll into the course designated by your placement exam score. In order to enroll in SPAN 212, SPAN 325 or SPAN 324/328, you will need a permission code. You should not need a permission code to enroll into SPAN 108. To obtain a permission code, continuing students e-mail Spanish & Portuguese scheduling officer Rhonda Cook (rcook@ku.edu) or to our department email (spanport@ku.edu) after your enrollment window has opened. Incoming students will be issued their permission code at orientation. If you have any questions or concerns about your placement score or have trouble enrolling, please contact the Spanish & Portuguese Undergraduate Academic Advisor.

• Placement Exam score guide:

  • Score	Placement
    0 - 260	SPAN 104 (5 credit hours) This course starts at the very beginning of an introductory, project-based Spanish learning program. It is designed to introduce and/or serve as a review of concepts and skills development typical in the first 2 years of high school Spanish. Class is taught in Spanish with a primary focus on communicating about the present.
    261 - 319	SPAN 108 (5 credit hours) This course offers a brief review of the beginning of an introductory project-based Spanish learning program (covered in SPAN 104) but progresses quickly to cover second semester content. It is designed to review concepts and skills covered but not mastered in the second and third years of many high school Spanish programs.  Class is taught in Spanish with a primary focus on communicating about the past.
    320 - 419	SPAN 212 (3 credit hours) This is the first of our 2-course intermediate Spanish sequence that uses Acceso, an open access site that is designed to promote the development of Spanish language abilities while exploring authentic materials found on the Web. Even if a student scores slightly above the lower range for the SPAN 216 (420-435), they might consider taking SPAN 212 because it is the introduction to the intermediate sequence.
    420 - 500	SPAN 216 OR SPAN 325 (3 credit hours) This is the student’s choice based on confidence level and desired focus (SPAN 216: comprehensive culture content/speaking/writing course that satisfies CLAS FL requirement OR SPAN 325: Spanish for Heritage Speakers to prepare for SPAN 324/328). Students at the lower range should consider 216 and the higher range 325. Students wishing to minor would benefit from taking either (or both) courses.
    Above 500	SPAN 324 & SPAN 328 (concurrently)
    700+	Eligible for Proficiency Exam* *Proficiency Exam does NOT provide retroactive credit, only an exemption from the language course requirement of most programs. Please schedule an appointment with an advisor for more info.