Bentonville High School Seeks SAT 'Culture Shift'

BENTONVILLE -- Bentonville High School administrators want to get more students interested in taking the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test so they might qualify for lucrative college scholarships, the principal said.

Students taking the test enter the National Merit Scholarship Program. The top performers on the test are named National Merit semifinalists, who then may submit a detailed application for one of the National Merit scholarships. Those students also must perform well on the SAT.

At A Glance

National Merit Semifinalists

A total of 131 Arkansas high school seniors, including 39 from Northwest Arkansas, are among about 16,000 students nationally to be named 2015 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists. They are now competing for 7,600 scholarships worth $33 million to be announced in the spring. Below are the numbers of this year’s semifinalists from schools in Benton and Washington counties:

• Bentonville High School: 4

• Farmington High School: 1

• Fayetteville High School: 9

• Haas Hall Academy (Fayetteville): 7

• Home-schooled: 3

• Life Way Christian School (Centerton): 1

• Providence Classical Christian Academy (Rogers): 1

• Rogers Heritage High School: 2

• Shiloh Christian School (Springdale): 1

• Springdale Har-Ber High School: 5

• Springdale High School: 2

• Rogers High School: 3

Source: Staff Report

Semifinalists in the 2015 National Merit Scholarship Program were announced this month. Bentonville High, the largest high school in the state, had four of Arkansas' 131 semifinalists: Joshua T. Coppick, Helen L. Hammond, Thomas D. Watson and Tyler M. Wilson.

Fayetteville High School, with about half of Bentonville High's enrollment, had nine semifinalists. Haas Hall Academy, a small charter school in Fayetteville, had seven semifinalists.

Chad Scott, Bentonville High principal, said raising students' interest in the PSAT and SAT is one of his goals. Scott addressed the topic at last week's School Board meeting at the request of Superintendent Michael Poore and board member Grant Lightle.

Boosting students' and parents' interest in the PSAT and SAT requires a "culture shift" because most of their attention is on the ACT, Scott said. The ACT is the other test many colleges and universities accept as part of the admissions process.

"Most parents know about ACT. They look for prep courses, they do things to prepare for the ACT, and the SAT has kind of been left behind," he said. "So in general they don't have the focus on the SAT, and thus they don't have the focus on the PSAT."

He said he's aware Bentonville High trails other schools when it comes to producing National Merit scholars.

"We have lots of indicators, and that's probably the only one we're not No. 1 on," Scott said. "And believe me, that bothers the principal. That is one that we need to grow in, but we've taken some steps there."

Three years ago, Bentonville High began giving every 10th-grader the PSAT on a practice basis. This year's sophomore class will take a practice PSAT on Oct. 15. That prepares them to take the real thing during their junior year.

Administrators target the top scorers on the practice PSAT and encourage them to take the test during their junior year. Scott said he would provide each of those students a PSAT prep book.

"I'm going to put it in their hands and make it real easy and say, for the next month, you need to be practicing, you need to be taking this practice test. This could mean big dollars for your parents, and it could be an important thing for college admission as well," he said.

The National Merit Scholarship Program distributes 2,500 scholarships in the amount of $2,500 each. Corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards are provided as well by about 240 corporations and business organizations for finalists who meet their criteria.

In addition, about 200 colleges and universities are expected to finance some 4,100 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.

Just being a semifinalist qualifies a student for $12,000 per year at the University of Arkansas, Scott said.

Lightle said he has a friend whose child earned a six-figure scholarship to the University of Oklahoma for being a National Merit scholar.

"They basically just pay you to go to school if you're a National Merit scholar," Lightle said. "(Students) need to understand how much money is at stake. If you're on this list, college is free somewhere."

Last year, Bentonville High began to offer a test preparation course that teaches students strategies for the ACT, PSAT and SAT. Brett Bell and Ryan Stripling teach the course. There are about 80 students enrolled in the course this semester, Bell said.

The ACT and SAT emphasize different subjects and are organized differently. For example, the ACT has a science section, whereas the SAT does not, Bell said. The SAT puts a stronger emphasis on vocabulary than the ACT does.

The only purpose of taking the PSAT is to become eligible for a National Merit Scholarship, Bell said. The maximum score on the PSAT is 240. The minimum score for earning National Merit semifinalist status in Arkansas is 206, which is in the 99th percentile, he said.

Fayetteville High's nine semifinalists is not unusual for that school. Fayetteville had 22 semifinalists in 2011, 17 of whom went on to become finalists, the most finalists it's ever had.

Steve Jacoby, Fayetteville High principal, said his school's success at producing National Merit scholars has to do with the many students taking a demanding course load.

"Another component is community expectations," Jacoby said. "Fayetteville is a university town. They want their children to be successful."

Counselors and others make a point of communicating to families the importance of the PSAT and SAT, Jacoby added.

NW News on 09/22/2014

Upcoming Events