Exam Categories

Student Categories and Accurate Placement

Given the wide range of students’ language backgrounds and the impact this may have on exam performance, the NIE offers multiple categories for each exam level. Accurate placement is essential to ensure reliable and valid results.

Teachers and test administrators are encouraged to verify each student’s placement and consult with the Exam Director when needed. In borderline cases, teachers and administrators should use their best judgment and aim for consistency, or contact the Exam Director for guidance.
Students will also complete a brief personal questionnaire, which will assist the NIE committee in confirming correct placement and, if necessary, adjusting the selected category.

CATEGORY	DESCRIPTION
A	A student who has studied Italian only in the classroom.
B	A student: who has or has had exposure to Italian outside of the classroom (including heritage speakers and students who might hear or speak some Italian); who lived or studied for more than 6 months in Italy in the past few years (where English was the language of instruction); whose native or principal language is a Romance language (French, Spanish, Romanian, Portuguese, or an Italian dialect). who is currently or has been enrolled in an Italian immersion, dual language, and/or international studies program for the prior 2 years or more
C	A student who:  was raised in a household where Italian is spoken regularly and is actively used by its members;  studied for more than 6 months in Italy in the past few years (where Italian was the language of instructions in all subjects); is bilingual to certain degree in both Italian and English.

Students'  Language Background
Measuring proficiency by levels is particularly challenging when students coming from different educational contexts participate in the same competition. In order to provide fair scoring, certain types of students should follow the guidelines below. Failure to follow these guidelines may result in disqualification.

Home-schooled students

Students who have studied Italian outside a traditional school setting, and college students can participate in the competition, but should contact the NIE director to determine the exam level ([email protected]).

Native Italian Speakers

The National Italian Exam is used to measure language performance of students who are studying Italian as a foreign language, hence native Italian speakers (i.e. foreign exchange students and students who were born in and who have studied the Italian language formally in their native Italy and moved to the United States) are ineligible to take the NIE.

AP Italian and IB (International Baccalaureate) Students

Students enrolled in an Italian AP or IB course should register to take the current year’s NIE exam at one level higher than the course in which they were enrolled the previous year. For example, if a student is enrolled in Italian AP this year and took Italian 4 last year, will take the Level 5 exam this year. If a student who is enrolled in AP Language this year and took Italian 3 last year, would take the Level 4 exam this year. An AP Language / IB HL student cannot take the NIE  at a level lower than 4.

Dual Immersion and/or International Studies Program Students

Students enrolled in dual immersion and/or an international studies program will register in Category B.

Dual Enrollment Students

Students in a Dual Enrollment Program (high school students who are taking an Italian language course in a local college) should take the level of Exam that corresponds to the year of study. 

Changes to Categories
If students are enrolled in the wrong level or category, they can be disqualified or the Committee can change their category. This typically happens when the selection of the category or of the level is compared with the information gathered in the students' demographics questionnaire and from the teachers' registration. For this reason it is extremely important that both teachers and students verify the information when they register the exam and respond to the questionnaire. In some cases we might contact teachers to obtain additional details and verify the information.


Disqualifications
Students will be disqualified:

• Enrolling in the wrong level or category.
• Failing to respond to their demographic questionnaire.
• Teachers responding to their students’ demographic questionnaires on their behalf.
• Taking the same level exam more than once without valid special circumstances (e.g., a student retaking the same level exam the following year).
• Using an automatic translator (as tracked by Lingco).
  Disqualified students will not receive a report card and their results will not be factored into the national calculations.