A.J. Moore and Waco High students honored
Three Waco ISD students received notification of their qualification in the National Merit Scholarship Corporation’s National Merit Scholarship Program.
The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarship that began in 1955.
High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test in October of their junior year. Approximately 1.5 million juniors across the nation take this exam every October. Of the 1.5 million entrants, 34,000 students with the highest scores in critical reading, mathematics and writing are recognized. That is the top 2% of all students taking the PSAT exam.
The highest score any student can receive on the PSAT/ National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) is 2400. To qualify as a commended scholar a student typically must not score lower than 2100.
Waco High senior Helen Hoover, and A.J. Moore Academy seniors Narciso Medina and Ethan Shen were recognized as Commended Students in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program. These Commended Students are named on the basis of a nationally applied selection index score that may vary from year to year and is below the level required for participants to be named Semifinalists in their respective states.
Although Commended Students do not continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships, some of these students do become candidates for special scholarships sponsored by corporations and businesses.