Why take Latin
at Dripping Springs High School?
For a
start, how about improved SAT scores?
Studies conducted by the
Educational Testing Service show that Latin students
consistently outperform all other students on the
verbal portion of the Scholastic Assessment Test
(SAT).
|
2000 |
2001
|
2002
|
2003
|
2004
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007 |
Latin |
665 |
665 |
666 |
672 |
674 |
681 |
672 |
678 |
All
Students |
505
|
506
|
504
|
507
|
508
|
508
|
503
|
502 |
French
|
636
|
633
|
637
|
638
|
642
|
643
|
637
|
637 |
German
|
621
|
625
|
622
|
626
|
627
|
637
|
632
|
632 |
Spanish
|
589
|
583
|
581
|
575
|
575
|
573
|
577
|
574 |
Hebrew
|
623
|
628
|
629
|
628
|
630
|
620
|
623
|
622 |
1999-2005 Taken from Table 6
in College-Bound Seniors — A Profile of SAT Program
Test Takers. 2007 data taken from 2007 College-Bound
Seniors-Total Group Profile Report.
"One of the most
PRACTICAL benefits of studying Latin for high-schoolers
is boosting verbal skills and scores on tests like
the SAT; students with two or more years of Latin
typically score 140-160 points higher on the SAT
than their Latin-less peers. Numerous studies have
demonstrated a significant positive correlation
between studying Latin and improved scores on a
variety of tests and even with college GPA and
performance in college English classes.
Of course, even more important is the broadened
cultural perspective that comes with studying
Greco-Roman civilization, a major component of the
high-school Latin curriculum. The Roman world
exerted enormous influences on our own culture, so
that to be ignorant of Roman civilization is to be
ignorant of our own roots.
"An important
consideration too for our own multicultural society
is the fact that the Greco-Roman world was what I
like to call the "archetypal multiculture." The
Roman empire at its greatest extent included all the
peoples living around the Mediterranean Sea and the
widely disparate cultures of not only Europe but
also Asia, the Near East, and North Africa. Rome was
thus a cultural melting pot and the lessons we can
learn from the world of Rome are invaluable to all
of us in America today."--Richard A. LaFleur,
Franklin Professor of Classics, University of
Georgia
For more
information about the benefits of studying Latin in
the modern world, please go to
www.promotelatin.org.
|