THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN COLLEGE-LEVEL PLACEMENT TEST IN SPANISH

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

General Characteristics of the Test

1. Each selected test is to be completed by all students. The expectation is that students who have had one or two years of high school Spanish will answer fewer questions correctly than students who have had three or more years of high school Spanish.

2. Each module is entirely in Spanish (except for the instructions) and all questions have a fixed-choice response format.

3. The test is scored as the number of correct answers, with no penalty for guessing. Each item has only one best answer.

4. Both the Grammar/Reading Comprehension Test and the Listening Comprehension Test are designed as a test of skill and not speed Ample time is allowed to answer questions. Sixty (60) minutes are allowed to complete the Grammar/Reading Test. Approximately thirty minutes are allowed for the Listening Comprehension Test.

Grammar and Reading Comprehension Test

The Grammar Module

The grammar module of the Spanish Placement Test deals primarily with questions of syntax. Grammatical content of the texts used in first and second year courses was analyzed noting the stage at which certain concepts were introduced and when such concepts were reviewed in the second year. Test questions were written to measure those concepts which appeared to be important to beginning study at each course level. Great care was taken in writing questions to avoid ambiguity or arcane constructions, and problems which might require special knowledge of regional or dialectical differences. The general criterion was to write items based on constructions of acceptable grammar and high frequency of occurrence throughout the Spanish-speaking world.

Two different multiple-choice formats are used. For simpler concepts, the two-choice questions are used. Questions of higher complexity are written using four-choice formats. In general, questions are phrased positively: e.g. "which of the following choices is correct." For some types of constructions, however, the student is asked to select the work or phrase that would make the statement grammatically incorrect. To accomplish this, the committee used the following criteria:

1. no English to Spanish translation

2. no incorrect spelling or grammatically incorrect phrases in the distractors (grammatically incorrect choices would result only from the insertion of the "wrong" answer in the sentence)

3. limitations on lexical items to those typically found in high school texts, so that this does not become a vocabulary test

4. concentration on high frequency structures and on those which contrast with English

5. exclusion of items that contain a racial, cultural, or sexist bias

6. exclusion of items that require calculation or special cultural knowledge beyond the context of the question

7. no "trick", contrived, or whimsical questions

It is clear that there are many types of syntactic constructions which allow for a variety of acceptable alternatives or, that under certain context could be interpreted differently. For this reason, several grammatical concepts are simply not covered in this test.

The following items are representative of the kind of questions students are asked to answer.

Examples of Spanish Grammar Items

Part 1

Select one of the two possible choices to fill the blank space in the sentence:

1. El señor Pérez es ________ dentista.

        a. un
        b. No Change

2. ___________ es buena para la salud.

        a. La fruta
        b. Fruta


3. ¡Pobre Pablo! Hoy _________ enfermo.

        a. está
        b. es


4. No ______ cuándo vendrán.

        a. conocemos
        b. sabemos


5. No veo _______ nadie.

        a. a
        b. No Change

6. La señora Díaz tiene _______ tres hijos.

        a. a
        b. No Change

Part 2

Select the correct choice from the four answers given:

1. ¿Preparo el almuerzo? - No, ¡no ________ Ud.!

        a. prepárelo
        b. lo prepare
        c. Io preparé
        d. Ios prepara

2. Pregúntele _______ quiere.

        a. que
        b. qué
        c. cómo
        d. quién

3. Los libros están en la tienda. ¿_______ los va a buscar?

        a. Qué
        b. Quién
        c. Cuáles
        d. Cuánto

4. ¿Qué blusa prefiere usted? - Prefiero _______

        a. el verde
        b. la verde
        c. lo verde
        d. las verdes

5. ______ agradable de la fiesta era la comida.

        a. Al
        b. El
        c. La
        d. Lo

6. No cabía duda que ellos ______ .

        a. equivocarse
        b. se equivocaran
        c. se habían equivocado
        d. se habrán equivocado

Part 3

Select the one choice which is NOT correct. Three of the choices will make the sentence grammatically correct. One will make it incorrect. Select the one that makes the sentence INCORRECT.

1. _______ los atletas.
        a. Los muchachos gustan
        b. Los muchachos admiran a
        c. A los muchachos les gustan
        d. A los muchachos les encantan

2. El accidente _______ en frente de mi casa.

        a. fue
        b. estaba
        c. ocurrió
        d. tuvo lugar

The Reading Module

An important consideration in the development of this module is comprehension of the sense of the text beyond a mere knowledge of Spanish. A large number of possible texts were considered. However, all technical, scientific, and other specialized materials, poetry and stylistically complex literature, biased or controversial readings, and texts that require wide experience in an Hispanic culture were all excluded. Passages which provided the best material for the reading test were ones which had an internal structure independent of their original purpose. As a rule, passages filled with facts but without a clearly stated point do not meet this criterion. Variety in subject matter and content was an important objective in selection of reading passages. Where possible, the various versions of the test have included narratives, advertisements, public notices, anecdotes, jokes, character descriptions, and the like.

In all cases, the original text was edited to bring it within the range of the vocabulary of the representative high school texts. Every effort was made to produce a text in which comprehension was not dependent on a key word or phrase that could not be inferred from the con text. English cognates were avoided if they were uncommon in Spanish usage. The authenticity of the original style was maintained wherever possible. Anglicized versions of the original Spanish were not used.

Two to four questions are asked after each passage. At least one item is included which is considered an "easy" item on a basic fact. In addition, one interpretative item is included on the sense or intent of the text as a whole.

The following passage and accompanying questions are typical of the Spanish Reading Module.

Example of Spanish Reading Module

Para ayudar a los clientes a calcular sus gastos mensuales, les ofrecemos un plan de pago en cuotas fijas a todos ellos. Este programa les permitirá distribuir a plazos iguales el costo de la electricidad durante todo el año. La cuenta mensual se basará en el promedio de consumo durante un plazo de doce meses. Los primeros once meses se cobrará una cantidad fija; el último mes se ajustará la cuenta de acuerdo con lo que realmente se haya consumido.

1. Bajo este plan, es posible que cada mes se pague menos de lo que se debe.

        a. Cierto
        b. Falso

2. La ventaja de este plan es que uno sabe cuánto tiene que pagar cada mes.

        a. Cierto
        b. Falso

3. Se calcula el costo de un mes a base de lo que el cliente puede pagar.

        a. Cierto
        b. Falso

4. Según este programa, es posible que un cliente reciba dinero al fin del año.

        a Cierto
        b. Falso

The Listening Comprehension Test

The Listening Comprehension Test is constructed using many of the criteria developed for the reading passages as well as taking into consideration the types of information that could not be readily understood and retained from a single hearing such as: numbers, lists, detailed facts, complex arguments, and what could be conveyed through intonation and tone of voice (e.g., mood, emotional state). The recorded passages are relatively short (generally less than sixty seconds) and include: simulations of dialogue, one side of a telephone conversation, public announcements, informally-related anecdotes, reading of a narrative, etc. In several cases, appropriate sound effects are added to improve comprehension.

The speakers represent several regions in Spain and South America, but all use standard pronunciation and natural articulation. The variations in accent appear to have caused no difficulties in understanding on the part of the students.

The passage and accompanying questions following on the next page are typical of those in the Spanish Listening Comprehension Test.

Example of Spanish Listening Module

En la literatura española, hay dos personajes de fama universal. Don Quijote es el protagonista central de la primera novela moderna, "El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha". Esta novela es una sátira de los libros de caballerías, pero representa también una visión total y compleja de la vida española. Don Quijote y su compañero Sancho Panza son antitéticos; donde uno es valiente, el otro es cobarde; donde uno es idealista, el otro es práctico. Los dos se complementan para formar una imagen de España y del espanol del siglo XVII tanto como del español de hoy.

En cambio don Juan Tenorio, personaje de ficción en dos dramas, uno del siglo XVII y el otro del siglo XIX, es un hombre irrespetuoso, cínico, satirico, irresponsable, egoísta, gran amante de las mujeres, héroe rebelde y finalmente símbolo del machismo latino. Pero es una personalidad que, por su espíritu de independencia, libertad y deseo de romper con los convencionalismos sociales cautiva la imaginación de los españoles y de todo el mundo.

1. Don Quixote _______.

        a. es irrespetuoso y cínico.
        b. es el personaje principal de una novela.
        c. es como su fiel compañero, Sancho Panza.
        d. es la imagen opuesta con respecto al carácter nacional de España.

2. Don Juan Tenorio _______ .

        a. es cobarde.
        b. representa el idealismo del machismo latino.
        c. refleja la ficción típica del siglo diez y nueve.
        d. refleja un deseo de independencia y de libertad que fascina a todos.

3. Sancho Panza y don Quijote _______ .

        a siguen el camino práctico de la vida.
        b. son personajes de los libros de caballerías.
        c. representan el hidalgo de la novela moderna.
        d. son muy diferentes, pero juntos forman un cuadro del español de hoy.

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