Alfred Stewart
May 25, 2007Yvonne Knudsen- Smith
June 1, 2007
The numbers 31, 22, 26, 28 seem like ordinary numbers in everyday life, but when they are composite scores for the ACT, people tend to take notice.
Duke University’s Talented Identification Program (TIP) recognized two area seventh graders last week for their exceptional scores on the college admission test.
Houma Junior High School seventh grader Garrett Thibodaux, 13, scored a 26 on his overall ACT composite score, while Golden Meadow Middle School seventh grader Jack Jambon scored a 22 overall on the ACT.
What makes Jack stand out is his 31 score on the reading and language arts portions of the test.
Duke TIP organizers said the scores are higher than 90 percent of all college-bound high school students who took the test. In fact, Garrett and Jack were part of the top 2 percent of 68,000 students who took the test in a 16 state region.
A humble Garrett said he really expected to get low marks on the ACT because he hadn’t studied most of the material on the exam.
“I feel pretty good about my scores, but I feel that they could be a lot better once I learn the material,” he said, noting that his next attempt will earn him even higher scores.
Jack’s mother Rochelle expected her ‘tween son to score at least average on the ACT. His stellar results though were a surprise. Learning for the Jambon boy comes naturally, she said. “Jack only studies if he’s unsure of himself, other than that he some where doing other things that interest him,” she said.
Likewise, Garrett’s scores are the talk of Houma Jr. High.
“Garrett is an incredible student. He maintains a 4.0 grade point average, and he’s vice president of the school’s BETA club. We are very proud of him and his accomplishments,” said Leslie Bourdier, Houma Junior High School’s Gifted and Talented department head and a mathematics teacher.
Garrett and Jack made the trek to Durham, N.C., May 21 where they were among more than 1,000 students from 15 other states to receive grand recognition for their scholarly efforts.
“Jack received grand recognition honors because he scored in the 95 percentile, which is better than 90 percent of the college-bound seniors who took the ACT admission exam,” said Jerrie Tyler, a Golden Meadows Gifted and Talented teacher.
Since 1980, Duke University’s TIP seventh grade talent search has honored students from all walks of life who have scored in the 95th percentile on a grade-level achievement test.
In 1994, the fourth, fifth and sixth grade talent search was launched to encourage and motivated academic pursuits.
Neither of the students will participate in the TIP’s online and summer programs.
Jack and his sister Taylor plan to spend the summer at Northwestern State University’s Advance Summer Program in Natchitoches. Jack will earn high school and college credits. “At Northwestern, I am going to engage in the things that we don’t have at school, like Age of Vampire studies and other ancient civilization studies,” he said.
In the meantime, Garrett plans to spend his time focusing on baseball with the Terrebonne Parish Recreation Department.
Taylor Jambon, a 14-year-old Golden Meadow Middle School student, first took the ACT almost two years ago. She scored a 21. This year, the eighth grader scored a 24 on the exam.
Taylor attended Northwestern’s summer program last year, and influenced her brother’s decision to attend this year, the teen’s father Josh Jambon said.
“There’s a lot of competition between the two. They both have that competitive edge. I can see them taking the exam again to see who will get the better score when they are older,” he said.
“Taylor and Jack have qualified for the foreign studies program. Taylor may study abroad next year,” Josh Jambon said. “Unfortunately, Jack will not travel with her until he’s a little older.”
In addition to Garrett and Jack, 10 other seventh graders in the Tri-parish area attended the state recognition ceremony at Northwestern. They are: Brianna Grisby of Golden Meadow Middle School; Ashleigh Aubin, Matthew Blake, Emily Cowen, Kaley Duplantis, Abigail Hagen and Benton Troxclair, all of St. Joseph Catholic Elementary School; Blake Coleman, Colin Marts and Tyler Neil, all of Montegut Middle School.
On another test note, the state’s LEAP scores were released while Garrett and Jack were in North Carolina.
Jack learned upon his return that he’d mastered three of the portions and had one advanced accomplishment, while Garrett had mastered all four categories.
Photo courtesy of SHANE THIBODAUX * Seventh graders Jack Jambone and Garrett Thibodaux were honored recently by Duke University’s Talented Identification Program for scoring in the top 2 percent among 68,000 students in a 16-state region on the ACT. Jack, a student at Golden Meadow Middle School, and Garrett, a Houma Jr. High student, are pictured at the ceremony.
