Walt Whitman students to retake portion of AP Spanish exam

Some students at Walt Whitman High School in Montgomery County will be retaking a portion of their AP Spanish exams after learning that a section of the exams has been invalidated.

There was a technical glitch in administering the free-response portion of the exam. As a result, some students may have received more than the allotted testing time for that section of the exam, according to a letter students received from Educational Testing Services, which administers the test on behalf of the College Board.

After months of preparation for the exam, senior Eyal Hanfling said he was disappointed to have a part of it thrown out for what he called a “minor incident.” He said there were technical problems adjusting the volume during a part of the exam, but it lasted for about 40 seconds. Students also had the option of getting a refund on the exam or receiving a projected score based on the multiple choice portion of the test.

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Montgomery Schools spokesman Dana Tofig said he had not yet heard about the exams at Walt Whitman, but that sometimes there are technical issues with AP tests.

“Each year something comes up because there are a lot of rules that you have to follow to administer these exams, and some of them are very long,” Tofig said. “It doesn’t mean kids are cheating.”

Last month, hundreds of students at Quince Orchard High School thought their AP psychology exams would be invalidated after a student was found to be improperly using a cellphone in the testing area. Educational Testing Services, however, decided the exams didn't need to be thrown out.

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