Bentonville student earns top ACT score

Alam
Alam

BENTONVILLE -- Shahul Alam took the ACT for the first time as an eighth-grader and received a composite score of 33. He tried again as a freshman and got a 35 -- one point short of the top score.

"I was so close, so I thought I might as well try one more time," said Alam, 17, a junior at Bentonville High School.

Arkansas ACT Performance

Members of Arkansas’ high school class of 2014 earned an average composite score of 20.4 on the ACT college entrance exam, an increase of 0.2 points compared with the 2013 class. The national average composite score last year was 21, according to data from ACT, a nonprofit student testing organization based in Iowa City, Iowa.

Source: Staff Report

His persistence paid off. Alam earned a top composite score of 36 when he took the test in December.

The ACT is a national college entrance exam. It consists of tests in English, math, science and reading.

Alam's performance put him in elite company. Nationally, the number of students earning a composite score of 36 is typically less than one-10th of 1 percent. Among the 26,821 Arkansans from the class of 2014 who took the test, only nine -- about 0.03 percent -- achieved a composite 36, according to Katie Wacker, an ACT spokeswoman.

Alam also became the first Bentonville High student to score a 36 in at least nine years, Wacker said.

Steven Kitchens, a Bentonville High science teacher who had Alam in his advanced placement chemistry class last year, noted Alam also scored a 238 out of a possible 240 on the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test.

"As a student, he's off the charts," Kitchens said. "When he puts his mind to something, it's very likely to happen."

Kitchens doesn't have Alam in any of his classes this year, but the two talk regularly. What separates Alam from other extremely smart students he's known is how personable he is, Kitchens said.

"He's very altruistic. He volunteers to help some of my lower-level classes," Kitchens said.

Alam is taking seven classes this semester, all of which are either advanced placement or international baccalaureate. He also founded a biology club at the high school last year. The club, which has between 30 and 40 members, provides tutoring and participates in community service projects. Alam also belongs to Mu Alpha Theta, the school's math club, and Future Business Leaders of America.

He enjoys learning new languages. He speaks not only English but also Spanish and Bangla, his parents' native language.

His interests aren't all academic; he also enjoys playing soccer. He's a big fan of the FC Barcelona soccer club.

"I've got a few jerseys. I follow them when I can," he said.

Alam was born in New York City. He's lived in Bentonville for eight years. His parents, Shamsul and Shamsad Alam, are from Bangladesh. Shamsul Alam said he is proud of his son's determination and the initiative he's shown in trying to improve himself.

"Taking five AP classes proves he pushes himself," Shamsul Alam said. "Hopefully he'll continue doing it."

Shahul Alam said he's most interested in attending Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and Columbia University in New York City. He has his mind set on a career in biochemical research.

Chemistry and biology are his main interests.

"With chemistry, I feel like I'm learning the basics of how the world works," he said. "And in biology, it's the basics of life."

But Alam appreciates math, too. When the School Board considered replacing pre-AP accelerated algebra I at the seventh-grade level last year, he stated his case against the plan in front of the board during time allotted for public comment.

Asked for his key to success on the ACT, Alam said he benefited from taking it at a relatively early age. He called attaining a top score "fulfilling."

"It was satisfying because I don't have to worry about it again," he said.

NW News on 02/12/2015

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