By DANIELLE RUSH
Kevin Chaung received a standing ovation at a recent Kokomo High School home basketball game.
He hadn’t shot a game-winning three-pointer, or made a layup, or even a free throw. Instead, the crowd recognized the Kokomo High School junior for an academic achievement — he earned a perfect composite score of 36 on the ACT.
Russena Comer, vice-principal for guidance, said Chaung’s perfect ACT composite score is the first she knows of in Kokomo High School history.
To earn a perfect composite score, Chaung, 17, had to score perfect 36s on each of the four ACT subtests, which include English, mathematics, reading and science reasoning.
Chaung is the son of Johnny and Gina Chaung of Kokomo. He has a brother, Shawn, who is a student at Central Middle School. He started school at Kokomo’s Boulevard Elementary, and moved to Sycamore Elementary in second grade for the KEY program for gifted and talented children. He remained in the KEY program while a student at Central Middle School.
Chaung said he did not have his scores sent to any colleges when he took the ACT in October, because he was taking it as a trial run. He does not plan to take the ACT again, but may repeat the SAT to improve on his score of 2270 out of 2400.
He doesn’t anticipate earning a perfect 2400 on the SAT, because it requires writing and “I’m not as good at writing.”
Chaung received his ACT results in December, and his family celebrated his score by ordering pizza.
“I was like, ‘Cool,’” he said. “I was pretty surprised.”
He gives his parents credit for instilling good study habits in him at an early age. Other teachers who inspired him include Scott Quinn, his fifth-grade teacher; Jim McCarter, one of his middle school teachers; and Becky Moulder, his calculus teacher.
Chaung plans to send his scores to several colleges, including Northwestern University, Yale and Harvard. He thinks the perfect score may make him stand out among other applicants.
“There are a lot of people who get perfect scores, but it might help my chances a bit,” he said.
According to a press release from the ACT, Chaung is one of two Indiana students and 63 in the United States to achieve a perfect composite score on the October 2007 test.
He said he studied for the test with ACT study books from the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library, which he recommends to future test takers. He also recommends reviewing for the test with friends and, “it also helps to read a lot of books” to build vocabulary.
He plans a career in medicine.
At Kokomo High School, Chaung plays tennis and is on the academic team for math and on the TechnoKats robotics team. He also takes Advanced Placement classes.
Comer said Chaung’s teachers are proud of his test scores.
“It opens up such possibilities to him to have scores like this.”
Danielle Rush may be reached at (765) 454-8585 or via e-mail at
danielle.rush@kokomotribune.com
