State Students Ace ACT

For the second straight year, students at<br>the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics have recorded one of<br>the nation's highest scores on the ACT Assessment Test.<br><br>"I hate to use the

Saturday, October 9th 1999, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

For the second straight year, students at
the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics have recorded one of
the nation's highest scores on the ACT Assessment Test.

"I hate to use the word fluke ... but last year, people thought
'this will never happen again' and this just confirms how
well-prepared our students are to compete with students across the
nation," school spokeswoman Donna Roberts said.

The school had the highest score last year. but was edged out of
the top spot this year by a similar school in Illinois.

The Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics is a state high
school for juniors and seniors. High school students from around
the state apply to attend the school, which opened in 1990.

Last year's 72 graduating seniors who took the test achieved an
average score of 30.2 out of a perfect 36.

The top score was four-tenths of a point higher.

"I think that's great," senior Amanda Stockton said. The
17-year-old student from Noble said her classmates' scores do not
come from practicing the test, but from hard work.

"It's mainly because of the high classes we take. They expand
our knowledge so much," she said. "We learn more than we would
anywhere else."

Senior Charles Te wasn't among the 1999 class, but he is pretty
sure he knows why students there excel.

"The kids are pretty smart to begin with, but they get an extra
boost here," said the 17-year-old from Guymon.

"The faculty here is always egging them on to compete and get
better scores. ... It's more personal pressure than it is outside
pressure."

The science and math school's 1999 class had 16 National Merit
Scholarship finalists, 11 National Merit commended scholars, 10
Robert C. Byrd honors scholars, 39 Oklahoma Regents scholars and
six Oklahoma academic all-state scholars. They also earned more
than $4 million in scholarships.