Current SPAN/PORT 321 and 206 Students:

Registration

1. After the Add/Drop deadline, go to Enrollment Services to request a Challenge Exam.
   
2. Three business days after you receive an approval email, do the following:
   I. signups.byu.edu: request the WPT (Writing Proficiency Test). For more information on the WPT, please visit this website.
   II. Bookings: request the OPIc (Oral Proficiency Interview-Computer). For more information about the OPIc, please refer to this website.
   
3. Create a reminder for yourself for each of these appointments. The Spanish and Portuguese Department will not have a record of your appointment.
   (PORT 101, 102, 206, 211, 212 or SPAN 105, 106, 206, 211, 212).

Students enrolled in SPAN/PORT 321 and/or SPAN/PORT 206 will receive an email, after the add/drop deadline, with registration information.

Winter 2026 Semester:

• Request the exam JANUARY 14, 2026 through MARCH 11, 2026.
  
  • DO NOT REQUEST THE EXAM BEFORE JANUARY 14, 2026. Doing so may cause complications with the exam-taking process.
• Take the exam JANUARY 14, 2026 through MARCH 23, 2026 to avoid a late fee. You will have to pay a late fee in order to take the exam from MARCH 23, 2026 to APRIL 1, 2026.
  
  • All exams must be completed by APRIL 1st. NO LATE EXAM REQUESTS WILL BE APPROVED.

The speaking and writing tests will be used to calculate the five grades (16 credits) you will receive. You can see these grades and choose which ones to add to your transcript after the withdraw deadline.

Requirements

Check your eligibility here:

Eligibility

• In order to take this exam, students must be enrolled in a BYU Spanish or Portuguese class.
• In order to receive the graded credits, students must complete that course.
• Once students have graduated, they are no longer eligible for challenging any additional credit at BYU unless it is specific to the graduate program to which the students have been admitted. This applies to graduate students and postbaccalaureate students.

Course Recommendations

• Most returned missionaries should take PORT 321 or SPAN 321.
• Returned missionaries who wish to strengthen their language skills may start with SPAN 206 or PORT 206 and may take the Challenge Exam for up to 12 credit hours.

Rules and Restrictions

• Native speakers cannot take the exam for their native language (Spanish or Portuguese) if they also completed the equivalent of high school in that same language.
• The exam MUST be taken during your FIRST Spanish/Portuguese class at BYU or your FIRST Spanish/Portuguese class after your mission.
• According to University policy, if a student has taken an exam at another university, through BYU's Off-Campus Testing Office, or has IB or AP credit, the student may still take the exam at BYU. The Challenge Exam will not replace those former grades or credits.  All test credits will be added to student’s total credits earned.
• Non-BYU students may take the Challenge Exam if they register for and take SPAN or PORT 321 as a visiting student. If they do not wish to take 321, there is also an off-campus credit exam available (the FLATS exam), but it is only 12 credit hours and is a pass/fail exam. Please contact Foreign Language Achievement Testing Service at 801-422-3512 or visit their website for more information.

Taking the Exam

• The exams are taken in the Humanities Testing Lab.
• Students may only take the exam one time.

Preparing for the Exam

Scores and Credits:

The Challenge Exam tests skills relevant to 100- and 200-level courses. You do not need these credits for the language certificate, minor, or major. You will not need take these courses if you choose not to take the exam or choose not to accept these grades.

Graded credit may be awarded for the following courses (the Department may change this course list without notice to students):

Spanish

• SPAN 105 (4 credits)
• SPAN 106 (4 credits)
• SPAN 206 (4 credits) *students enrolled in SPAN 206 will not receive credit for SPAN 206 through the Challenge Exam
• SPAN 211R (2 credits)
• SPAN 212R (2 credits)

Portuguese

• PORT 101 (4 credits)
• PORT 102 (4 credits)
• PORT 201 (4 credits)
• PORT 211R (2 credits)
• PORT 212R (2 credits)

You decide which credits you want to put on your transcript. The graded credits you accept WILL affect your overall GPA and your total credit hours but WILL NOT affect credit caps for scholarships, applying to programs, etc. If you do not accept the grade(s), then you do not receive credit for the course(s).

If it is your first semester/term at BYU, the scores you have accepted will appear a few days after this semester/term grades are posted. If it is not your first semester/term at BYU, your scores will appear within three weeks.

Challenge Exam credits are taken into account when priority registration dates are calculated so long as the credit has already been posted to the student’s record when the calculation is made.

Challenge Exam credits DO NOT COUNT towards the requirement for students to declare a major by the time they have earned 60 credit hours or prohibit them from changing their major when they reach 75 credit hours. Additionally, students are not charged a higher “Advanced Study Tuition” rate for having too many credit hours because of Challenge Exam credits. Although, Challenge Exam credits ARE COUNTED in the student's total BYU credit hours and GPA's on their transcripts.