Seven Alachua County middle school students have been recognized by Duke University for earning outstanding scores on either the SAT or the ACT college entrance examinations.

The seven were all among the top scorers in the prestigious Duke University Talent Identification Program (TIP), which recognizes seventh-graders throughout the southern United States with exceptional academic abilities. Their scores on the SAT or ACT exams place them among the top six to eight percent of high school juniors and seniors who take the test.

“This is truly an amazing accomplishment,” said Bill Goodman, the district’s supervisor of guidance and student services. “In middle school these students are already earning scores that are the envy of the vast majority of the nation’s high school students.”

Katharine Crooks and Sam Lim of Howard Bishop Middle School and Shirley Ai, Alex Choi, Lucy Zhong and James Tan of Lincoln Middle School were all invited to the Grand Recognition Ceremony at Duke University in late May, an annual event which celebrates the achievements of the highest scoring students in the TIP program.

Grace Mandel, who was promoted into the 9^th grade at Eastside High School this year but was in the 6^th grade at Lincoln during the 2003-04 school year and therefore eligible for the program, is also a Grand Level Award winner. These students and another 54 from Alachua County Public Schools were honored at a state ceremony at the University of Florida on May 20 for also earning high scores on the tests.

Han of Lincoln Middle has the distinction of earning the highest overall score in Alachua County. His verbal score on the SAT was a 640, and his math score was a stunning 720, which gave him an overall score of 1360. His scores are well above the averages earned by most college bound students, which are 508 for the verbal portion of the test and 518 for the math portion of the SAT.  But he’s looking forward to an even higher score when he takes the test again in high school.

“Now I know what the SAT is like,” he said. “I can certainly take it again and probably do better.”

Several of the students say that taking the exam was very good experience.

“Now I know how much preparation it takes,” said Ai. “You also find out what level you’re at now and what you can improve on.”

“It was challenging, but informative,” said Crooks. “I’m really kind of excited about taking it later.”

About 72,000 students across 16 states participated in the Duke TIP program this year, but fewer than 1400 qualified for the grand recognition ceremony.  Through their participation in the program, many of the recognized students earn college scholarships and/or the opportunity to attend workshops and special courses at various university campuses.