SNOHOMISH – There was no cramming, and his calculator’s battery died halfway through the math section, leaving him to do the rest by hand.
But Brad Gerhardt, 17, still managed to earn a perfect score on the ACT – the only student in the state to ace the college-entrance test taken in June.
“I guess it’s pretty exciting, but it’s not everything,” said Gerhardt, who started his senior year at Snohomish High School this week. “Test scores aren’t everything. There’s a lot more to academics, and to life.”
Of the 365,000 students across the nation who took the test in June, Gerhardt was one of 82 to earn the top score. About 3,500 Washington students took the test.
The ACT consists of 215 questions on math, reading, science and English. Scores are typically announced at the national and state levels for graduating classes.
Nationally, about 1 in 4,500 students who graduated in 2005 scored a perfect 36 on the ACT. By comparison, the average composite score nationally for the class of 2005 was 20.9.
Trying again can help students get better marks, with 55 percent of those who retake the test increasing their scores. Gerhardt’s top score was the result of his second attempt after an initial test in April, when he earned an impressive 32.
“I thought I could do better,” he said.
He said he studied hard the first time, but let things slide on the second attempt. When the battery died in his calculator, he didn’t let it get to him and kept plugging along.
Parents Gerald and Carol Gerhardt are proud.
“We’ve always known he was smart, but I’ve never known anyone to get a 36, either. It was pretty amazing,” Carol Gerhardt said.
Their son also earned a score of 2240 score out of a possible 2400 on the SAT, another college-entrance test. He has a 4.0 grade-point average at school while taking challenging courses, including three college-level Advanced Placement classes this year.
Beyond the books, Gerhardt is an accomplished musician, giving piano lessons to younger students and playing the viola with the Everett Youth Symphony. He also is an Eagle Scout and involved in his church youth group.
Grades will be important in his last year of high school, “but it’s not top of the priority list, per se,” he said. His biggest goal this year is “more to have fun.”
Gerhardt plans to attend Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, after high school and is thinking about majoring in English with the goal of becoming a professor.
Reporter Melissa Slager: 425-339-3465 or mslager@heraldnet.com.
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