Placement Exam
The Online Spanish Placement Exam (OSPE) is required of ALL incoming students who have any prior experience with Spanish, including those who (1) studied Spanish at school, at any level and length of time, or with any other form of instruction; (2) have spent time studying or living in one or several Spanish speaking countries; (3) speak some or mostly Spanish along with another language at home or with relatives.
Students must take this exam even if they don’t plan to take Spanish during their first semester or year at Colby, or even if they don’t anticipate taking Spanish at all while at Colby. Many students change their mind and plans during the course of their studies, and this exam is only offered to students once. This is exam will not be available for students at any other time in their Colby years. The aim of the exam is to accurately place incoming students into the correct courses for their skill levels. Students who have no experience with Spanish do not need to take the exam.
This required exam will be open from MONDAY, MAY 20 through FRIDAY, MAY 31. By taking the OSPE during this period you will have a score and will be able to register for the Fall semester knowing which Spanish class to take. Depending on the results of your placement exam, an in-person interview in Spanish may be required upon arriving at Colby to ascertain your language proficiency. The exam will take a maximum of 75 minutes, and should be completed on a computer (and not a tablet or a cell phone). Recommended browsers are Chrome or Firefox. Students will be notified when they can view their results.
If you require accommodations or encounter technical difficulties with the exam, please email the Chair of the department, Professor Brett White ([email protected]).
Click the link below to access the exam. You will be prompted to enter your Colby username and password.