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July 3, 2008

Italian-American Groups Rally to Save Advanced Placement Test in Italian

Italian-American groups and the Italian ambassador to the United States are working to save the Italian Advanced Placement test, The Washington Post reported this morning.

The College Board announced this spring that it would eliminate the test after the 2008-9 academic year, along with the exams in French literature, Latin literature, and computer-science AB, because of low participation. While other AP tests are available in French, Latin, and computer science, there is only one Italian test. It has been offered since 2006.

The Italian ambassador, Giovanni Castellaneta, and the College Board’s president, Gaston Caperton, announced in June that a task force had been formed to attempt to raise the money needed to continue the test, according to the Post. Italian Embassy officials told the newspaper they expected to learn this month how much money was needed. They said the money would have to be raised by October. —Beckie Supiano

Posted on Thursday July 3, 2008 | Permalink |

Comments

  1. The saddest part of the CB’s decision is that it speaks to the xenophobic trait of U.S. culture which includes an aversion to the learning of any “foreign” language. In this age of globalization, the learning of any language brings with it not only a deeper understanding of another culture but also a deeper understanding of our own. Why is that in other countries, several languages are taught early on in the K-12 framework, while in the U.S. we not only postpone their study, but create psychological, emotional as well as structural obstacles to their study. I fear that this xenophobic streak is part of a misdefined notion of “patriotism.”

    — rita    Jul 3, 07:32 PM    #

  2. Yes, lets continue to dumb down the next generation. After all, who cares about the achievements (language, culture etc.) of Italy or, for that matter, western civilization?

    — Raymond P. Vito    Jul 9, 12:00 PM    #