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DECATUR, Ala. (AP) — Write down what you know and move on. That's the philosophy one Alabama student maintained before posting two perfect scores on SAT tests.
Decatur High School junior George Brown scored a perfect 800 on the SAT chemistry and math-level II subject tests, the Decatur Daily reports (bit.ly/1mFsoYa) reported. SAT did not release how many took the test, but Brown was among the nine percent with a perfect score on chemistry and 19 percent with a perfect math score.
"Not in my wildest dream did I expect perfect scores," Brown said.
Brown said he yelled as if an intruder were in the house when he opened the email telling him his scores about 7:30 a.m. Dec. 22.
"We thought someone had broken in the home," his mother, Tonya Brown, said. "He was shouting '800 times two.' We're very proud of him."
Brown answered 85 questions in one hour to earn his chemistry score. He also had one hour to take the math test, which included calculus and 50 questions.
The math test was slightly more difficult because Brown had pre-calculus as a sophomore, but he didn't take any math classes the first semester of this school year.
"This is just remarkable and a very big accomplishment," Decatur Principal Travis Schrimsher said.
SAT offers 20 subject tests in five subject areas, but Brown took math and chemistry because he wanted to qualify to attend a science, technology, engineering and math summer camp at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Brown, the oldest son of a lawyer and pharmacist, said he wants to be a computer scientist and attend MIT because "it's the best place to be for tech education."
His SAT subject test scores put him in line with 25 percent of the freshmen who get accepted to MIT. But he has two other tests — biology and physics — in his chase for a perfect 2,400 overall SAT score. Brown will take the comprehensive SAT exam in April.
Of the more than 1.5 million students who take the SAT annually, only about 300 get the highest possible SAT score.
Despite his academic achievements, Brown, who is on the AP diploma tract and ranked first in his class, doesn't view himself as the smartest student in the school. He said it's a mistake for anyone to accept that title "because we are dependent on each other, and everyone plays a role."
Brown said he's good at programming, but terrible at building.
"So, who's smarter, the builder or me?" he asked. "We all contribute."
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