The 2007 Exams:
How Many and How Good?

Mary Pendergraft (Wake Forest University)

The Chief Reader for AP Latin will briefly introduce the program for audience members who are unfamiliar with it. We will look at the variety of choices in the available syllabuses and the core skills as evaluated in the new Course Audit procedure. A survey of the format of the exams will show how those skills are tested and the relative weight of each question.

Finally we will look at the results of the May 2007 exams, considering how many students participated and how that number compares to recent years, and also the relative popularity of each syllabus. Discussion of student performance will focus on the differing results on the various kinds of questions, and stress the need for students to demonstrate their mastery of the Latin in order to achieve success, a theme that our third paper will develop at length.

This administration was first time students were tested on a new Cicero syllabus, and their performance was generally encouraging. Overall, however, student performance on the Latin Literature exam lagged behind that on the Vergil exam, so we will look at some areas where their performance diverges. This will set the stage for our second paper, which will present some strategies for encouraging improved understanding of the Latin at all levels.