The coordinator of Portuguese education in the United States of America (USA), João Caixinha, pointed out that 376 secondary school students, from 26 educational establishments across the country - including American schools and Portuguese community schools - took the exam NEWL of Portuguese on April 26th.

By registering the largest number of registrations, Portuguese surpassed the other languages that make up the NEWL, namely Russian, Korean and Arabic.

"These numbers demonstrate the growing interest in the exam and in the certification of knowledge and proficiency in the Portuguese language. This is also the total number of students who received certificates with final results, which translate into credits to present to American universities for access to education higher education in 2023/2024", according to an official statement.

The Coordination of Portuguese Education in the USA (CEPE-USA) considers that the final balance is "very positive".

"According to data provided by AC to CEPE-USA, around 80% of these 376 students tested a high proficiency in the NEWL Portuguese exam, which in practice translates into a more advanced placement in Portuguese courses at American universities, that is, these Students who have now started higher education will have saved money on tuition fees, as they have entered intermediate and advanced Portuguese courses instead of starting on beginner courses, thanks to the results obtained in this exam", highlighted CEPE-USA.

According to João Caixinha, the large turnout registered this year is the result of work and investment that has been made over the last few years by entities ranging from the Camões institute, to FLAD, through the diplomatic and consular network in the USA, and by the Portuguese Teaching Coordination team.

NEWL exams assess the linguistic skills - text comprehension, oral comprehension, written production and oral production - of students from the 9th year onwards - when they can take the exam to test their skills and knowledge -, up to the 12th year, when they can use the exam to obtain credits for access to higher education.

The NEWL Portuguese exam was created in 2017 and is recognized by the College Board's 'Advanced Placement' Program - which grants credits for access to higher education in the United States - and by North American universities.