News

Latin Students Take on the World in the National Latin Exam

Award winners in Mr. C’s third-period Latin 1 class. (Photo/John Cirignano)

Logan Forcier, Staff Writer
May 6, 2023

On Tuesday, March 14, and Thursday, March 16, all Latin students present took the National Latin Exam. It is a 40-question, multiple-choice test with a 45-minute time limit sponsored by the American Classical League and the National Junior Classical League. Even though it is called the National Latin Exam, it is taken in 13 countries around the world, which amounts to over 100,000 students.

John Cirignano, Rice’s head of the language department and Latin teacher, has administered the exam for the past 12 years.

“I think it’s important for students to take this exam because it provides outside confirmation and affirmation that our program is successful,” Cirignano said. “And it gives good students, primarily, a chance to prove that they’re making progress in Latin, and it gives students that are here maybe less talented in language, a chance also to see what they might be able to do, against the world.”

Award winners in Mr. C’s seventh-period Latin 2 class. (Photo/ John Cirignano)

This year 28 Rice students earned awards over the three different tests taken by the four different levels of Latin at Rice. Here is a list of the award winners:

Summa cum laude (With highest praise)