This study examines the academic experiences of heritage Spanish-speakers who were placed in a traditional Spanish class for non-Spanish speakers at the secondary level. Each of the participants in the study demonstrated advanced-levels of oral proficiency in Spanish yet each was placed in a beginning-level Spanish class. An ethnographic case study method was used to explore the effect of this inappropriate placement on the students' linguistic abilities and academic identities. This study addresses an all-too-common practice that fails to advance heritage language students' knowledge of their native language. The needs of these students differ from those of non-native speakers, and the type of class that they take should reflect this.