Four Waukee High Students Earn High Scores on National German Exam


This spring four Waukee High School students were honored at the Iowa Association of Teachers of German for earning high scores on the National German Exam.

  • Senior Daniel Feldt earned a Gold Achievement Award and a spot on the Gold Presidential Honor Roll on the Level 2 Exam.  He had the highest score on the Level 2 exam in Iowa.
  • Sophomore Mackenzie Hermanson earned a Silver Achievement Award and a spot on the Silver Presidential Honor Roll on the Level 3 Exam.  She had the highest score on the Level 3 exam in Iowa.
  • Junior Tandri Einarsson earned a Silver Achievement Award and a spot on the Silver Presidential Honor Roll on the Level 3 Exam.  He had the 4th highest score on the Level 3 exam in Iowa.
  • Junior Luman Beard earned a Silver Achievement Award on the Level 4 Exam.  (Luman is on the left in the photo.)

The National German Exam is administered each year to nearly 26,000 high school students of German. The exam, now in its 59th year, provides individual diagnostic feedback, rewards students through an extensive regional and national prize program, and creates a sense of accomplishment. Exam results provide teachers a means of comparing students in all regions of the country, as well as programmatic data to help inform curricular decisions.

The Exam is delivered electronically and has four levels, each with the same format. The Level 2, 3, and 4 Exam is administered in the winter so qualifying students in the 90th percentile can apply for the AATG/PAD Study Trip Awards, a four-week study trip program to Germany. Students taking the Level 1 Exam have not had the requisite two years of language instruction to qualify for the AATG/PAD Study Trip Awards, which allows schools to administer the Level 1 Exam in the spring.