National Latin Vocabulary

Exam Costs

  • Register at: https://secure.quia.com/nlveorder
  • Registration Window: November 9 - January 27
  • Exam Window: February 1 - March 5
  • School/Organization Registration Fee: $15 ($25 non-U.S.)
  • NJCL Chapter Discount: $15 (i.e. NJCL chapters in the U.S. pay NO school registration fee.)
  • Per Student Exam Fee: $4.00 - You will recieve payment information in the registration confirmation from Quia.

National Latin Vocabulary Exam | NLVE

The 2018-2019 academic year will be the third year of the NLVE (National Latin Vocabulary Exam). The NLVE is designed to test a student's knowledge of Latin vocabulary and is based solely on specific lists of Latin vocabulary relevant to a particular student's level of Latin.

To see practice exams and other preparation materials, visit the NLVE Preparation page. 

If you have not read through the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), we highly suggest you do so, as it will answer many of the questions you might have.

Exam Overview

  • This is a test of proficiency in Latin vocabulary (nouns, verbs, numbers, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, etc.)
  • 70 questions (45 minutes)
  • Multiple Choice (4 choices)
  • Approximately one-third will relate to nouns; one-third will relate to verbs; the remaining third will address the other categories of vocabulary
  • Approximately 20 Easy; 35 Medium; 15 Difficult
  • Nouns - questions will test a knowledge of meanings, declension numbers, gender, and the nominative and genitive forms.
  • Verbs - questions will test a knowledge of meanings, conjugation numbers, and principal parts.
  • No knowledge of grammatical usage, derivatives, or other information is necessary. Only the most basic information will be asked.
  • The administered exams are specific to the level of Latin in which the student is currently enrolled. Results will only be based on a comparison to other students who are also in that level of Latin.
  • Awards will be divided into six levels: Latin ½, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5+
  • Latin lists are provided for each of the levels. Solid memorization of the items and information related to the words on the lists will guarantee a perfect score! See the preparation page in order to download the vocabulary lists.

Exam Procedures

  • Quia.com will e-mail proctor information containing exam instructions, usernames, and passwords on January 29.
  • The instructions are very thorough and will walk you through the entire process from start to finish.
  • The exam must be administered on Quia.com from February 1 - March 5.
  • Students have 45 minutes to complete the exam.
  • All students from a school's class or level of Latin should take the exam at the same time.
  • Any school administrator, counselor, or sponsoring teacher may proctor the exam.
  • Results and awards will be distributed as soon as the results are compiled and awards allotted.

Vocabulary List Source Materials & Methodology

  • The NLVE will only ask questions related to the words on the official Latin vocabulary lists, which are located above.
  • The Latin ½ and Latin 1 lists contain those words which a student is most likely to encounter in any standard first-year Latin program.
  • The Latin 2 list contains those words which a student is mostly likely to encounter in a traditional Latin class that is preparing the student for Caesar or similar Classical authors.The list is based almost entirely on "Latin Vocabulary For The First Two Years" by Elmer Bogart, which is free from Google Books or may be downloaded HERE.
  • The Latin 3, 4, and 5+ lists are based almost entirely on "The Vocabulary Of High School Latin" by Gonzalez Lodge, which is based on the vocabulary of Caesar, Vergil, and Cicero, and is free from Google Books or may be downloaded HERE. Bold and numbered words in the book are used for level 3. Levels 4 and 5+ use all of the words contained in the book.
  • Generally, one may use the above source books to learn the dictionary entries for the vocabulary words on the lists. In the event that more information is needed, we suggest the Perseus Latin Dictionary (based on Lewis & Short and the Elementary Lewis & Short). The Oxford Latin Dictionary will also be considered a source.

For more information or for questions about this exam, please e-mail OnlineTests@njcl.org

2020-2021 National Latin Vocabulary Exam cut off scores are available.
Downloadable NLVE certificates

COLOR CERTIFICATES

BLACK AND WHITE CERTIFICATES