Purpose

The purpose of the National Spanish Assessments (NSA) is:

• To promote proficiency in interpretive, presentational and interpersonal communication
• To assess the national standards as they pertain to learning Spanish
• To measure student growth during the learning process
• To provide several options for testing different skills 

Advantages of the NSA

The NSA is the most flexible testing program offered in our suite of exams. Take a look at the following benefits of the NSA:

• The National Spanish Assessment (NSA) provides immediate results
• It may be administered up to three (3) times a year to show growth during the academic year
• It may be used to determine college-level proficiency ratings
• Four modules are available for teachers to administer: Reading, Grammar, Vocabulary, Listening
• Instructors may choose which of these modules they would like to administer
• Each module may be administered separately
• Levels 01-6 are available, and students are allowed to repeat Levels
• Not a national competition (ie. students are not eligible for prizes or scholarships)
• Teachers may be eligible to apply for teacher scholarships
• No late fees! Register at any time between August 15, 2023 – June 28, 2024

How It Works

Starting with a specific Level as a starting point, teachers complete their registration and invite their students to the National Spanish Assessment (NSA). Teachers have access to all of the NSA Levels, each of which include four modules, along with practice material related to the corresponding Level. Teachers have the option to test their students’ progress up to three times in the school year until the NSA window ends in late June.

Some Examples:

Take a look at some examples of how other teachers and school departments use the National Spanish Assessment:

• Growth Tracking: You decide to use only one, or two, or three, or all four of the National Spanish Assessment’s flexible modules to evaluate your students’ progress throughout the school year (year-start, mid-year, end-of-year).

• Placement: You believe that a new student will fare well in Level 2. You decide to use the first attempt to evaluate the student’s proficiency at Level 2 (placement), and then use the remaining two attempts to track the student’s growth at different levels.

• Preparation: You enter your students in the National Spanish Exam (NSE) every year. You utilize the NSA to test for placement and prepare your students for the national competition.

• Formative Value: You use the NSA in the classroom as a teaching activity, combined with a KWL chart to engage students in their own learning process.

• Independent teachers: You teach Spanish at a learning center or independently. You use the NSA to track your students’ growth and provide parents with valuable data.

• Strategic Planning: You use the National Spanish Assessment (NSA) for benchmarking, operationalizing objectives, and monitoring outcomes and successes over time.

• Summer School: You enroll your students in the National Spanish Assessment as part of your Summer School program.

• College Placement: You are a Spanish professor at the undergraduate level and use the NSA as a placement and growth tracking tool for new or first-year students.

• …and more! The National Spanish Assessment (NSA) is flexible and modular by design so that instructors can use it to suit their needs.

Exam Format & Length

The National Spanish Assessment (NSA) is a proficiency-based online exam designed to give teachers many different options and results for testing students, now available for Levels 01 – 6. Some of the content in the NSA mirrors material that can be found in past National Spanish Exams.

Modules

The National Spanish Assessment (NSA) is divided into seven Levels (01 – 6).
• Each Level (01 – 6) is comprised of practice material and three Assessment attempts.
• Each Assessment attempt is comprised of four Modules.
• Each Module can be administered separately
• Teachers may choose which module(s) they wish to administer to their students
• Modules 1 – 4 can be administered three times at different points in the year to show growth.
• Each Module takes approximately 20 minutes to complete.

Computer-Graded Modules

The NSA Specific Level Exams assess content and performance standards at a specific Level. There are four modules per Level (20 minutes each):

Module 1 | Interpretive Communication – Reading Comprehension
Module 2 | Interpretive Communication – Listening Comprehension
Module 3 | Vocabulary
Module 4 | Grammar

Vocabulary Practice

Download a list of recommended NSE/NSA vocabulary words, updated for 2023-24.

Scoring

Teachers have access to raw scores and percentages once results are available.

Results

Results are available immediately. In order to have a more complete picture of the student’s language capacity, please take each student’s individual background and exposure to the language into account when utilizing the scale below. This scale is intended to provide teachers with a basis for interpretation of their student’s results using the rating guidelines from the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) and ACTFL (the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages).

* Note: These levels do NOT necessarily correspond to course levels but rather to proficiency levels. (i.e. Level 3 ≠ Spanish III)

Certificates

Students who take the National Spanish Assessment (NSA) may be given an optional certificate of completion. Because the NSA is not a competition, students are not eligible for medals or student scholarships. Instructors who administer the NSA may be eligible to apply for a teacher scholarship.