Mabud, 17, who will be a senior at River Hill High School in the fall, had taken the SAT exam May 3 and a few weeks later was trying to find out his score on the SAT's Web site.

The results for the three sections of the test he had taken each showed a score of 800, the highest possible.

Thinking something was wrong, Mabud kept refreshing the page but the results always read the same: 800, 800, 800.

He had scored 2400, a perfect score.

With this realization, Mabud then proceeded to run around his Clarksville home shouting, filled with joy.

"I didn't see this coming," he said. "... I didn't believe it."

The SAT, a college entrance exam administered by the College Board, was revamped in March 2005 to add more critical reading, a new writing section and the addition of third-year college preparatory mathematics. The nearly four-hour-long test is administered seven times a year.

In 2007, 2,787 Howard County students took the SAT, earning an average score of 1633, according to the county school system. One student in the county earned a perfect SAT score in 2007, according to school officials.

The 2008 SAT results for the county are expected to be released later this year, schools spokeswoman Patti Caplan said.

Mabud said he began to prepare for the SAT while a middle school student, familiarizing himself with vocabulary that might appear on the test. Once he understood the format of the test by taking practice exams, the answers fell into place, he said.

"I didn't do much to study," he added. "It was a matter of focus for me. I just focused (during the test) a lot."

Going into the test that day in May, Mabud was afraid he would lose his focus because he kept thinking about a concert that the rock band in which he plays guitar had scheduled for that night.

Mabud's focus set in once the exam started, however, and he used every minute of the nearly four hours available to complete the test.

Lisa Kump, an English teacher at River Hill who taught Mabud in a week-long SAT prep class last summer, calls Mabud extremely disciplined. Coming into the class last year, he already was about five questions away from a perfect score, Kump said.

Kump, who also taught Mabud 10th-grade Gifted and Talented English, said she was particularly impressed with his zeal for learning new vocabulary words.

"Any vocabulary word he didn't know, he was right to the dictionary," Kump said.

Mabud's advice to other high school students who are seeking a perfect SAT score is simple -- practice.

"You just have to take lots of practice tests," he said. "If you know what to expect, you can do well. It's just practice and practice and practice."

Mabud, who is interested in studying engineering and business management in college, said he's hopeful his perfect score will help him gain admission to the college of his choice.

At this point, he isn't sure where he'd like to attend college, he said, but he is sure of one thing: "I'm really happy I won't have to take the SAT anymore. It's a big relief."

user comments (1)

user barry51 says...

FREE CURE FOR ESSAYS, REPORTS, FCAT AND MORE

www.TheEasyEssay.com is a free site that can teach almost anyone how to organize an essay in 5 min. and is ideal for SAT, ACT, FCAT or essay exams, reports, or in any situation where you need to logically prove an idea.

Our concept is based on our belief that in most speaking, the majority of the conversation deals with one person telling the other person why something is true; that is, giving reasons for its validity. That is all that we ask you to do on this site, except in writing. We use the essay form because it is the most efficient form of organization available and we automate the organization so that you limit your statements to proving only the things that you have already stated were true.

www.TheEasyEssay.com, an automated information organization program is also of use for business reports, inter-office communications, special and rehabilitative education, as well as speech organization.

It has been taught to individuals from eight to eighty and been used from elementary education to post graduate work.

For longer papers it can automatically expand into a 17 paragraph thesis.

The program is usable in any language.

A noted side effect is that users begin to communicate logically

The Easy Essay is usable in any language.

If you are an educator, administrator, etc. and find the program as effective as I believe it to be, please pass this information on to the media so that the site can get more publicity and help more people,

We would appreciate any feedback, but in any case:

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO WHERE EVER IT CAN HELP.

Posted 7:30 PM, 07.10.08

• Permalink