MADISON – In recent performances, students enrolled in German at James Clemens High School won top awards in the National German Exam for High School Students.

James Clemens junior Isaac Lamm and sophomore Carly Parker earned silver medals, while junior Alexandra Underwood claimed a bronze medal and special recognition on the Honor Roll for the National German Exam. Now in German 4 class, they showed outstanding performances on Level 3 in the exam, teacher Peggy Boynton said.

In addition, Lamm and Parker tied for second place in rankings for the State of Alabama. Parker also participates in James Clemens Theatre. Underwood is a member of James Clemens Robotics Team.

More than 8,000 students participated in the exam this year, Boynton said. Boynton teaches German and Latin at James Clemens and serves as Content Lead in the World Language Department. The National German Exam, now in its 61st year, rewards students through an extensive prize program and provides a means of comparing students in all regions of the United States.

“The outstanding performance of these German students in our national competition brings honor to their school, their district and their German program,” Doug Philipp said. Philipp is President of American Association of Teachers of German and teaches at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs, Colo. “AATG salutes their tremendous accomplishment and the great work their teachers do.”

Founded in 1926, the AATG represents German teachers at all levels of instruction. The organization is dedicated to advancement and improvement of the teaching of language, literature and culture of German‐speaking countries.

To take the National German Exam, students used their laptops at home under parental supervision because of COVID-19. Normally, students complete the exam in the classroom with Boynton’s supervision.

Each exam level has 100 multiple-choice questions. Listening and viewing lasts 40 minutes with a series of short audio and video segments. The 45-minute reading portion uses various print texts, graphs and images.

In designing the exams, educators don’t rely on one method, textbook or approach. Exams reflect the principles of World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages. Their focus is development of students’ abilities to communicate effectively and with cultural competence as members of multilingual communities.

The exam’s design intends to reach students at all levels of study.

For more information, visit aatg.org/page/NGE.