National Latin Exam Jitters

[Rebecca VA]

This Monday is the National Latin Exam, and my seventh-grader is really getting scared. She has done beautifully in her online Latin I class all year; she had an A+ average for the first semester. We go through vocabulary lists very frequently, and she knows every vocabulary word in the first 15 chapters of Wheelock's. She just took a four-session online seminar on Roman culture. She knows all the gods and goddesses in the D'Aulaire book. She's read every volume of the Roman Mysteries series. She has even toured Italy for almost two weeks -- she has been to all the historical sites.

But the practice Latin I exams are knocking all the confidence out of her. She is finding many vocabulary words that she never saw before. The practice exams are asking questions that leave her clueless. She has yet to score above a 90 on any of the practice exams (even the Intro to Latin ones!!).

Are the National Latin Exams really *that* hard? Is it really that hard to get a gold medal?

[strider]

I have no answers; I am quaking right there with you. My dd is at the head of her Latin class and has worked her tail off, yet we're all feeling insecure about this exam.

:cheers2:

[frogpond1]

strong in grammar. You can deduce many things if you are strong in grammar. My 7th grader is also taking the Latin 1 exam, but not Monday, later on in the week. I hope they both do well.

[Kathy in Richmond]

She sounds extremely well-prepared, Rebecca!

My dd, who's been through all six levels of the NLE, says to tell her that reading the Roman Mysteries series gave her many of the answers to the history questions over the years:).

Good luck to all!

~Kathy

[LaJuana]

...to get a gold medal. I think you can miss three or four questions usually to still earn the gold. So, encourage your dd that the results on those practice tests put her very near if not on the mark. I have a couple of sixth graders taking the Intro test, and I'm nervous for them, too!

[Brenda in MA]

we found that the best preparation (in addition to a solid Latin course) is to do several of the old exams on the NLE website and try to learn from what was missed.

I also look at the exam syllabus for the level we are doing to make sure that we've covered everything that is on the exam. Since all Latin programs are a bit different, we often find a grammar topic or two (or an irregular verb) that we haven't learned yet. So we look ahead in the Latin book and try to learn those concepts prior to the NLE.

Good Luck to all the WTM students taking the NLE!
Brenda