Our students’ accomplishments on national language exams and on the Advanced Placement tests are phenomenal and worthy of celebration! On behalf of my colleagues in the Foreign Language Dept., it is my privilege to share these results with new and returning families as a testament to the strength of our language programs.
National Exam Results
In March many of our students had opportunities to take part in national tests written and sponsored by the professional associations of language teachers such as the AATSP, AATF, and ACL. National assessments give students a chance to win honors and awards for academic excellence in the target language, and give teachers a chance to gauge the effectiveness and rigor of their curriculum.
Mr. Sabre’s French students had a very strong performance in Le Grand Concours, the National French Contest. 25 students received awards: 16 students ranked nationally at or above the 50th percentile, earning the Certificat d’Honneur. Seven students scored at or above the 75th percentile and earned bronze medals. Additionally, two students won silver medals for achieving even higher scores: Rory Devin’s score on the French 2 exam placed him in the 85th percentile, and Ariane Cain’s score was in the 90th percentile on the French 3 exam!
Students in Spanish 3, 4, and AP classes also did an exceptional job on the National Spanish Exam. In Spanish 3 (taught by Mr. Fischer, Mrs. Gillette, and Mrs. Stevenson), 20 students received certificates of Mención Honorifica for scoring at or above the 50th percentile. Bronze medals were awarded to eight Spanish 3 students for scores in the 75th-84th percentile, and seven students at this level earned silver medals for scores in the 85th-94th percentile. In Spanish 4 and AP, taught by Mrs. Schott, 21 students earned Mención Honorifica certificates, while three students at each level earned bronze medals. In Spanish 4, four students earned silver medals, as did two AP Spanish students. To top all, Levi Stafford in AP Spanish earned a gold medal by scoring in the 97th percentile nationally!
In Latin, a total of 51 students from Mr. Habel’s Latin 1 through Advanced Placement classes earned recognition on the National Latin Exam. Six students earned cum laude certificates by reaching the 54th-64th percentile nationally on their level of the exam, and 19 students won magna cum laude recognition by reaching the range of the 65th-75th percentile. A second set of 19 reached the 76th-90th percentile, which earned them silver medals. Finally, seven students placed above the 90th percentile and took home gold medals in recognition of their achievements.
Advanced Placement (AP) Exam Results
Our fifth-year language students also take the AP exam in May and potentially earn college credit by achieving scores of 3, 4, or 5. We are so very proud of our students who enrolled and shone in AP French, Spanish, and Latin last year! It was the first offering of AP French at D’Evelyn in many years, and students exceeded past performance. Four of seven students earned scores of 3 or 4, and the class had an average mark of 2.86. Students in AP Spanish were brilliant! Eleven students earned a score of 5, twelve earned the mark of 4, and one student had a 3. The class mean score was an amazing 4.32! On the AP Latin exam 100% of the eight students scored a 3 or above, and the group achieved a mean score of 4.00.
Building Excellence
Results like these speak to the bottom-to-top soundness of our language curricula and instructional methods, and the skill of the teachers that students have had as they progressed through our program. Clearly, the honor goes to our hardworking students, but as a teacher and parent of a D’Evelyn alumnus, it gives me great confidence in our school to see our students achieving at such a level. I hope that these results have a similar effect upon you!
The PHurrowed Brow 