The Norwegian placement exam has been developed by the Norwegian Department at St. Olaf College. If you have had any previous Norwegian language learning experience (including using Norwegian at home, if you’ve attended Skogfjorden or other language camps, have studied Norwegian at a university, attended school in Norway, etc) we ask that you complete this exam before arriving on campus.

International students: If you are coming from a country where English is not the primary language of high school instruction you do not need to complete a language placement. Please talk to the registrar for next steps.

The Norwegian placement exam is divided into two parts: an essay and a dialog. You should begin as soon as you have finished reading these instructions.

1. Write as much as you can using a variety of vocabulary and sentence structures. Once you have written a draft, go back and see what other details you are able to fill in. You are not allowed to use a dictionary or other reference materials. All that matters with this placement exam is that you do your personal best.

2. Norwegian vowels: Once you are enrolled in a course at St. Olaf, you will be required to use æ, ø and å in all of your typed essays. For now, don’t worry about that if you don’t know how. You can instead use ae, oe and aa.
3. Time limit for the exam: You have a maximum of 2 hours to complete the entire exam. Please read all instructions and work carefully. If you finish the exam before the allotted time, go back and re-check your answers. Make sure you do all revisions you wish to make. Once you are satisfied that your exam is complete, you must go to the SUBMIT EXAM button and click on it.
4. Exam results: All students who complete the online placement test will receive their results and tentative placement during advising.