Esperanza - One can pass this exam with the highest "A" grade through to "E" grade . "F" grade is a fail . Igot a "D" grade so I just scraped through . I did the same exam in French .. Man , that was difficult ...and I got a "C" grade .
With hindsight , I love the idea that we were pushed beyond our limits .. It made us work harder even if , during the lessons , we almost felt like giving up .
I gave some Spanish students ( a school in Vallecas ) a spelling test ... Just 20 words . These words were meant for an advanced course , but I gave this to my 15 year olds . Initially they were horrified at their low scores .. but when I explained that the test was meant for advanced students and that the class ( the 15 year olds ) had done well , they were happy and took lots of notes on the words they hadn't been able to spell .
I fully believe that students should be pushed a little beyond their expectations rather than give them an easy path , as long as the potential advantages are explained to them .