el examen AP

About the Exam

The AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam will test your ability to apply communication and language skills developed in the course and ask you to demonstrate your understanding of Spanish-speaking cultures.

Exam Duration
3hrs 03mins

Exam Date:Thursday, May 15th 2025

This is the regularly scheduled date for the AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam.

AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam

Observaciones para la clase de la perspectiva de Maestra Clyne

• Consider your goal.  If you speak a lot of English in class, it will have a consequence.  The goal should be to reasonably conduct class in 90-95% Spanish by the time the test rolls around.  At the start of the year, you want 80-85%.  The English comes into play “around the edges.”  For example, during grammar explanations…

• Make sure your Spanish is “real.”  AP graders are trained to treat assessments as if they didn’t speak a word of English.  If you make up a word, for example “pictura” is often used instead of “foto” or “locación” instead of “ubicación.”  it will reduce your score. 

• The best way to prepare from a “broader knowledge viewpoint” is by reviewing vocabulary sources from multiple countries.  Knowing that “cell phone” can be “teléfono celular, móvil, despositivo” is potentially essential because you don’t know which of those words will be used on the test. I have a few stories of misunderstandings due to different words used in different regions!

• Avoid fundamental use of “English” in “Spanish.”  For example, “mi abuela’s casa, Yo juego la guitarra, or soy 18 años.”  Those would be considered fundamental mistakes.  Also, saying things like “correo negro” instead of “chantajear.”  This suggests word for word translation of the word “blackmail”.  If you don’t know the word, talk around it but always use SPANISH!

• False cognates are also something AP graders do not treat well.  If you say “realizar” when you should use “darse cuenta or “caer el veinte” it will reduce your score.  Realizar is a great word but it doesn’t mean what most native English speakers think.

• Remember, even using ONE word of English during the test will result in an immediate deduction. 

Exam Format

The AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam has consistent question types, weighting, and scoring guidelines every year, so you and your students know what to expect on exam day.

Section IA: Multiple Choice
30 Questions | 40 Minutes| 23% of Score

• Interpretive Communication: Print Texts. This section consists of a variety of authentic print materials (e.g., journalistic and literary texts, announcements, advertisements, letters, charts, maps, and tables). Students will be asked to:

1. Identify the main ideas and supporting details

2. Determine the meaning of vocabulary words in context

3. Identify the author’s point of view or the target audience

4. Demonstrate knowledge of the cultural or interdisciplinary information contained in the text

Section IB: Multiple Choice with Audio
35 Questions | 55 Minutes | 27% of Score

• This section consists of a variety of authentic audio materials, including interviews, podcasts, public service announcements, conversations, and brief presentations. It is divided into 2 subsections:

1. Interpretive Communication: Print and Audio Texts (combined). 2 sets of audio sources paired with print materials on the same topic with questions (article and audio report, chart and conversation).

2. Interpretive Communication: Audio Texts. 3 sets of audio sources with questions (interview, instructions, presentation).

• Students will respond to questions about main ideas and supporting details. Some questions will require students to demonstrate their understanding of cultural or interdisciplinary information.

• Students will have time to read a preview of each selection and skim the questions before listening to the audio. All audio texts will be played twice.

Section IIA: Free Response Written
2 Questions | 1 Hour 10 Minutes | 25% of Score

• Interpersonal Writing: Read and reply to an email message (15 minutes).

• Presentational Writing: Write an argumentative essay based on 3 sources, including an article, a table, graph, chart, or infographic, and a related audio source (played twice), that present different viewpoints on a topic (~55 minutes total: 15 minutes to review materials plus 40 minutes to write). Students will have access to the print sources and any notes they may take on the audio during the entire 40-minute writing period.

Section IIB: Free Response Spoken
2 Questions | 18 Minutes | 25% of Score

• Interpersonal Speaking: Participate in 5 exchanges in a simulated conversation (20 seconds for each response). For this conversation, students will be provided with a preview of the conversation, including an outline of each exchange. 

• Presentational Speaking: Deliver a 2-minute presentation in response to a prompt in which students compare a cultural feature of a Spanish-speaking community with which they are familiar to their own community or another community.