Three Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) students from three different high schools earned a perfect score on the national PSAT/NMSQT exam, placing them among the top 1% out of the 3.5 million test takers.
According to an ACPS release, juniors Sigrid Noah of Gainesville High School, William Bigger of Buchholz High School and Ethan Dodds of Eastside High School earned 1520 on the exam, which included a perfect 760 on the reading/writing section and 760 on the
The PSAT/NMSQT is taken each fall by sophomores and juniors nationwide. The results are used to determine eligibility for the National Merit Scholarship program.
Prior to enrolling at Buchholz, Bigger attended the Center for Advanced Academics and Technology (CAAT) magnet program at Oak View Middle School in Newberry. Along with taking many high-level courses at Buchholz, Bigger is the drum major of the band and principal trumpet in the Alachua County Youth Orchestra. He is also a member of the Buchholz Math Team and the music honor society. He credited a variety of reasons for his academic success.
“A quality education in Alachua County, good parenting, a lot of reading as a kid, and just a general acquisition of knowledge,” said Bigger.
Dodds enrolled in the International Baccalaureate magnet program at Eastside and attended the Lyceum magnet at Lincoln Middle School in Gainesville. He’s a member of the school band and the Alachua County Youth Orchestra, along with the Eastside Math Team, Brain Bowl team and Linguistics Club. He said the rigorous curriculum he’s been exposed to helped him on the exam.
“The fact that I’m in a higher-level math class than what was tested made it easier,” said Dodds. “I could use the problem-solving that I learned to answer some of the questions.”
Noah is enrolled in the Cambridge International magnet program at Gainesville High. Like Bigger, she also attended the CAAT magnet program at Oak View Middle School. At GHS, she’s involved with the National Honor Society, DECA, March of Dimes and Canes for Gainesville.
“I think it’s a cumulative thing,” said Noah. “I’ve had good teachers over the course of my education, an interest in learning, and I like reading. I think that all contributed in some way to the score.”