Watson Inglett, an 11th grader at The Frazer School, recently earned a perfect score of 1520 on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), the school announced Wednesday. 

“We are extremely proud of Watson and our entire junior class,” Frazer School Principal Olanrewaju Fayiga said in a press release. “Our junior class had an average score of 1470 out of a possible 1520. I would be surprised if there was any school in the country with a higher average.” 

Inglett said he feels The Frazer School’s “competitive nature” has allowed him “to learn how to perform under pressure” and succeed on tests such as the PSAT/NMSQT. 

“I’ve had some really great teachers, too,” Inglett said in the release. “But if I had to choose one thing, it would be my faith that has been my motivation and encouragement.” 

Melissa Halpern, an English teacher at The Frazer School in Gainesville, said she was “thrilled and extremely proud”, but not surprised by Inglett’s perfect score.  

 “He really takes the time to understand the underlying principles of whatever he’s learning,” she said in the release. “His insistence on deep understanding has made him a very strong critical thinker, so he was able to master the content of the test as well as the form.” 

According to the press release, the PSAT/NMSQT serves as a qualifying exam for the National Merit Scholarship Program. 

The program, which started in 1955, is a yearly academic competition among high school students for recognition and college scholarships, the release said. It is administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a nonprofit organization that runs without any assistance from the government. 

The release states that high school students in the U.S. enter the National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the PSAT/NMSQT, “which serves as an initial screen of over 1.3 million entrants each year, and by meeting published program entry and participation requirements.” 

By the beginning of September 2026, the release said “16,000 students (approximately 1% of entrants) will be notified that they have qualified as semifinalists – the highest-scoring entrants in each state.”