Middle school students at Chesapeake Academy (CA) get a year-long Latin course, and their teacher, Hillary Smith, checked her email daily for the results of the National Latin Exam to see how her students fared in this nationally normed test.
This timed exam features 40 questions on grammar, comprehension, mythology, derivatives, literature, Roman life, history, geography, oral Latin and Latin in use in the modern world, according to head of school, Catherine L. Emery. Ten students who volunteered for the assessment placed better than the national averages.
CA students Merritt Kelley, Fin Burke, Meera Crotty, Veronica Edmonds, Sophia Kunkle and Kathryn Kenner earned cum laude designations in the National Latin Exam. Mason Walker earned a magna cum laude designation and Orla Watts, Callum Watts and Louisa Goodrich earned summa cum laude designations.
A dead language? Not at all! Students who study Latin benefit from stronger vocabulary and word attack skills, said Emery.
