Language Placement Exams

Students who have prior experience with Latin and who wish to begin taking Latin at Lawrence at the intermediate (200) or advanced (300) level should complete the online Latin placement exam. Students may take this exam at any time, but should plan to do so well in advance of the term in which they expect to take their first Latin course.

The online placement exam takes approximately 60 minutes to complete, and consists of parsing/form identifications, a short sight translation passage, and grammar questions about the passage.

Students who wish to take the online exam should contact the Classics Department chair for instructions on how to access this exam via Canvas.

The Classics Department will grade online placement exams as they are received, and will notify students of their placement as quickly as possible. While each student’s proficiency will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, here are some general guidelines:
1-2 years of high school experience: start at the 100-level.
2-3 years of high school experience: start at the 200-level.
3-4 years of high school experience: start at the 300-level.

Students may fulfill the university’s foreign language competency requirement by taking Latin at the intermediate level (CLAS 220) or any 300- or 400-level course in Latin literature.

Students who wish to satisfy the foreign language competency requirement through previous coursework in Latin (i.e., prior to arriving at Lawrence) must take the Latin placement exam in person, under proctored conditions. Students must achieve a grade in the A-range (90% or above) on this in-person exam in order to satisy the foreign language requirement.

The proctored Latin placement exam is offered annually during Week 1 of the Fall Term.

Students who wish to take the in-person exam must notify the Classics Department chair by no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Friday of Welcome Week.