About AP Spanish Language
& Culture

The AP Spanish Language and Culture course emphasizes communication (understanding and being understood by others) by applying interpersonal, interpretive, and presentation skills in real-life situations.This includes vocabulary usage, language control, communication strategies, and cultural awareness. The AP Spanish Language and Culture course strives not to overemphasize
grammatical accuracy at the expense of communication.To best facilitate the study of language and culture, the course is taught almost exclusively in Spanish. The AP Spanish Language and Culture course engages students in an exploration of culture in both contemporary
and historical contexts.The course develops students’ awareness and appreciation of cultural products (e.g., tools, books, music , laws, conventions, institutions); practices (patterns of social interactions within a culture); and perspectives (values, attitudes, and assumptions).

Recommended Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites; however, students are typically in their fourth year of high school–level Spanish language study. In the case of native or heritage speakers, there may be a different course of study leading to this course.

Course Themes:

The AP Spanish Language and Culture course is structured
around six themes:
• Beauty and Aesthetics
• Contemporary Life
• Families and Communities
• Global Challenges
• Personal and Public Identities
• Science and Technology
Themes facilitate the integration of language, content, and
culture and promote the use of the language in a variety of
contexts.

How AP exams Are Scored

AP Exam Readers are thoroughly trained, and their work is monitored throughout the Reading for fairness
and consistency. In each subject, a highly respected college faculty member fills the role of Chief Reader,
who, with the help of AP Readers in leadership positions, maintains the accuracy of the scoring standards.
Scores on the free-response questions are weighted and combined with the results of the computer-scored
multiple-choice questions, and this raw score is converted into a composite AP score of 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1.
In general, an AP Exam score of 5 is equivalent to the average score among college students earning grades of A in the college course. Similarly, AP Exam scores of 4 are equivalent to college grades of A−, B+, and B.
AP Exam scores of 3 are equivalent to college grades of B−, C+, and C.

Using and interpreting AP Scores

The extensive work done by college faculty and AP
teachers in the development of the course and the exam and throughout the scoring process ensures that AP Exam scores accurately represent students’ achievement in the equivalent college course. While colleges and universities are responsible for setting their own credit and placement policies, AP scores signify how qualified students are to receive college credit or placement.

Additional resources
Visit apcentral.collegeboard.org
for more information about the AP Program.