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actualizado: 4-IX-11

1.  Why would a student want to take this test?  Why would a teacher want students to take it? What do my students get if they win?

• As the NSE website points out, the NSE is a national, proficiency and achievement-based test of reading and listening comprehension.  It is norm-referenced & based on the national standards for foreign language education (ACTFL). As of the 2006 exam, the test is given entirely on-line.
• From the student point of view, it enables them to see how their skills measure up against other members of their age group and language level.  It also looks good on applications for college & for scholarships (participation in extracurricular academic competitions). In addition, there are national travel awards and scholarships that students can apply for.
• The exam may give teachers a clue as to how their programs stand vis-a-vis others in the nation.  And, of course, there are always bragging rights.
• The state winners receive medallions (1st, 2nd, 3rd) or ribbons (4th-10th place), and everyone gets a certificate of participation. First place winners receive a dictionary.  The national office groups winners into "oro," "plata" and "bronce" categories, for which the state coordinator orders certificates as well. Beginning with the 2011 exam, the chapter has begun awarding a small senior scholarship, using the national scholarship process to help with the selection.

2.  What must I do to participate? top

• If you do not yet belong to AATSP, then you need to join. If you are a returning member, you need to pay your AATSP dues before you can register students. When you get your membership number, put it where you can find it. Then, if your brain works the way mine does, put another copy somewhere else. Everyone else must pay their AATSP dues and register for the exam by January 31 of each year to avoid late fees. 
• Meet the deadlines for online registration and mailing of payment.
• Arrange with your IT person to handle the computer needs.
• Give the test within the designated window.

3.  What happens if I miss a deadline? top

• Dues for must be paid by January 31 to avoid the non-member sponsor fee (which is more than the dues). You cannot register for the exam without supplying either a current AATSP number or paying the non-member sponsor fee. Save any e-mails or receipts that confirm that you paid!
• Registration. If you miss this one, there is a late registration period from February 15-25th, but there is an additional charge of $2.00 per exam, for a total of $5.25 (¡ay!).
• Mailing in the money. I don't know what they'll do if you miss this one. Please mail in the money as soon as you've finished registering, so you don't forget. Late payment does mean that I won't receive your chapter fees along with the others.

In the past the non-membership sponsor fee has been the same as the annual dues. It is now actually higher than the dues, so why not get the benefits of membership (subscription to Hispania, access to the web site, etc.) instead of nothing? Also, this puts you on the chapter list, meaning that $6.00 of the dues you paid goes back to Kentucky for AATSP--Kentucky activities, and automatically gets you on the chapter president's e-mailing list for the next year.

5. What if I need to change my registration form after I submit it? top

Best advice, read everything carefully before you submit. However, there are provisions in the instructions for updating your registration. Last year I received several updated invoices before the end of the registration period. Please do not start a new registration process to correct errors in the first one. However, "life happens" to all of us, so if you accidentally register twice, you should e-mail Quia at nseregistration@quia.com to correct the problem. One thing to keep in mind: as soon as you submit a registration, Quia automatically generates the access codes for each student and bills the national office for that number of exams. Therefore, you cannot delete a name from your list. You may add names, as long as you do it by January 31. Whatever you do, do not give the username/password issued to Student A to Student B. The online exam will not accept the discrepancy, and your student will be unable to take the exam.

Block scheduling, for NSE purposes, is when students complete in one semester what would normally take a full academic year. Students who take Spanish on block schedules in the fall, but who do not continue in the spring, may participate in the NSE.  Their level & category will correspond to the course they were in during the fall.  They should keep their language skills up by doing the on-line practice exercises. Students enrolled in the spring blocks may take the exam five weeks before the end of term at the level where they are enrolled, provided they can complete all testing by April 10.

The best way to get these is to go to the national website, pull down the Exam Preparation tab, where the computer requirements are listed. Then show the list to your IT person. You will need computers with internet access and sound capability, and a set of headphones for each student taking the exam. Apparently many computers can use the headphones from personal CD players, iPods, and other devices that students often have, so if you need them, perhaps some of your students can bring their own.

11.  What do I submit to the state coordinator? top

¡NADA! You don't send anything to me any more: no forms, no lists, no money. Everything goes to the national office and then they will send me the chapter fees. I wil be copied on the online invoice, so I'll know well in advance that you are participating.

12. When will we get the results? top

You should be able to get your school's results as soon as the exam window closes on April 10. I usually get the chapter results by April 25. As of 2010, Quia is sending the results to individual teachers at the same time. When you get yours, please look at all the students who scored at or above the 50th percentile (they'll have "oro", "plata", "bronce" or "premio" next to their names). Let me know that either a) everything is as it should be or b) where the errors are. Please check in before May 1, even if there are no problems. I usually certify the results in the state level competition at the beginning of May (national rules), and once I do that, no changes in placement can be made. As soon as I get that done, I start ordering certificates, medals and ribbons, which can take another week or two to arrive. Be assured that I don't dawdle. There isn't enough room in my office to hold all the stuff once it begins to arrive :-)

Please help matters along by following the instructions on how to practice the test prior to your test date and by making sure your students know exactly what information they will be required to type in. The more errors that occur in this part of the process, the longer it will take to get the final results, and your students may be disqualified.

While you are checking your students' results, be sure to note any 12th graders in levels 4, 5, or 6 who score at the 75th percentile or higher nationally. Those students are potential scholarship applicants.

13. How will the on-line exam be scored? top

The spreadsheet document that I will send you will have the following scores and percentiles for each student: Vocabulary, Grammar, Achievement, Reading, Listening, Proficiency, and Total. The national office uses the total percentile results to award the "Oro," "Plata," and "Bronce" categories. The state chapter uses the total scores to award the 1st-10th place medals and ribbons. As of 2010, the total scores are divided by 4 and rounded to the nearest whole number (the increase in ties let us recognize 70 additional students that year). Students in the OE or BL categories need to score as well or better than students in the Regular category to receive the same place.

actualizado: 4-IX-11

back to the NSE-KY page