Other Policies

World Language
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Other Department Policies

Placement for New Students:

New students to Cary Academy desiring to register for a world language course above the Novice level must place into that course by successfully completing the placement exam for that level.

Placement for Rising Ninth-Graders Continuing at Cary Academy:

It is the goal of the Middle School world language program at Cary Academy to provide students with a firm foundation in a new language that will serve as the basis for continued study of the language in the Upper School leading to Advanced proficiency in that language. As in music or sports, the speed with which students develop skills in a new language is dependent to a certain extent upon a student’s natural ability. Even more significant is the student’s commitment to improvement through daily practice. Since both the natural ability and the commitment to practice that a student brings to the task of learning a new language vary, not every student will reach the same level of proficiency in the same amount of time.

In order to best serve the needs of students who have achieved varying levels of proficiency after three years of world language study in the Middle School, the World Language Department has developed the following system for the placement of rising 9^th graders into Upper School world language classes. Generally, Cary Academy students who earn a grade of B- or better in an Intermediate-Low class in the 8^th grade will be placed in the Intermediate-Mid level in the 9^th grade, while students earning a grade of C+ or below in an Intermediate-Low class in the 8th grade will continue at the Intermediate-Low level for another year. This placement policy provides students who have had difficulty with world language in the Middle School with a real and important opportunity to strengthen their language skills just when their academic performance begins to count for college. Please note that the level of proficiency at which a student begins world language study in the Upper School will not affect the length of time that it will take for that student to complete his or her graduation requirement in world language. Students need only to complete three credits in a single world language in grades 9-12 in order to fulfill their world language graduation requirement.

Students wishing to receive a higher placement than the one for which they qualify by course grade have the opportunity to do so through successful completion of the Upper School World Language Placement Exam for the higher level.

Exemption from Upper School World Language Requirement

Students seeking an exemption from the upper school world language requirement must:

1. have a demonstrated history of difficulty in world language classes (grades of C- or below),

2. have on file with the counselor recent documentation (within the last two years) of a disability affecting the student's ability to learn a new language, and

3. obtain a recommendation for exemption from the current world language teacher.

Parents of students who meet these three requirements should formally apply for a world language waiver by filling out the application form and submitting it to the Upper School World Language Department Chair. Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Waiver applicants should be aware that some colleges will not recognize a world language waiver for their admissions purposes and will still require a specific amount of world language study at the high school level. For example, UNC system schools require two years of world language study in high school and will not accept a waiver .




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