I have always wanted to be fluent in another language. Three of my siblings are fluent in German so, naturally, I decided to break the mold and take Spanish. When I arrived at USC, I took the language placement test and placed into Spanish 122. This past semester I excitedly declared Spanish as my minor. That excitement was soon replaced with horror, however, when I learned of the exit exam.
The official name of Spanish 122 is “Basic Proficiency in Spanish." This means that after completing the course, students are expected to have a foundational knowledge of the language and the ability to engage in basic conversation. In order to test if a student is "basically proficient," the Spanish program instated the exit exam.
The exit exam is a test that all students in the course must take and consists of reading, writing and speaking portions. If a student fails any of these three portions, they are allowed one re-take. If they fail that re-take, they are given a failing grade in the entire course and must either take that same class again or the equivalent in another language to receive credit.
Now, I understand the idea of the exit exam. It is a surefire way to tell if a student really is or is not proficient in the language. What I don’t agree with, however, is the fact that a student with a high A in the class can still fail it if they fail any part of the exit exam.
Why even bother with the other exams in the class if, even with perfect scores on those, a student can still fail the course? What about students with test anxiety? It is already challenging enough for these students to take any type of exam, let alone one that determines their entire outcome in the course.
If the exit exam is really seen as the only way to accurately test a student’s ability, so be it. But in that case, stop making me take exams that, in the end, do not matter if I fail the exit exam. Please choose one or the other and stop putting students through needless stress.