Several world language students from Platteville High School attained national recognition for their performance on the 2016 National Spanish Examinations.

Francesca Bisi and Saafia Masoom earned gold medals in Spanish 5. Two students received silver medals, four received bronze medals, and five received honorable mention.

“Attaining a medal or honorable mention for any student on the National Spanish Examinations is very prestigious,” said Kevin Cessna-Buscemi, national director of the exams. “The exams are the largest of their kind in the United States, with over 135,000 students participating in 2016.”

The National Spanish Examinations are administered each year in sixth through 12th grades and are sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.

PHS students have a long history of high achievement on these exams. The students were taught by Jeff Henderson, who is retiring this year.

Bisi and Masoom earned gold medals, given to students who scored in the 95th percentile or better. Silver medals are earned between the 85th and 94th percentiles. Bronze medals are awarded between the 75th and 84th percentiles. Honorable mention is given for scores between the 50th and 74th percentiles. 

Eric Wells earned a silver and Andrew Verger a bronze in Spanish 4. Bradley Budden earned a silver and Venkat Reddy a bronze in Spanish 3. Talitha Goomey and Trevor Rawson earned bronze medals in Spanish 2.

Honorable mentions went to Liam Reinicke, Lucy Tian, Morgan Wehnke and Calvin Wernimont in Spanish 2 and Daniel Iselin in Spanish 4.