Today8th-grader rated ‘perfect'
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Lee Kennedy-Shaffer, an eighth-grader at Mechanicsburg Middle School, scored a perfect 1600 on his SATs. (Jason Minick/The Sentinel)
If his SAT test score is any indication, Lee Kennedy-Shaffer will have no problem following in the footsteps of his older brothers.
At the tender age of 13, the Upper Allen Township boy has aced an exam that terrifies many students who are four years older.
The Mechanicsburg Middle School eighth-grader scored a perfect 1600 on a test designed to gauge the scholastic aptitude of would-be college students.
"I was pretty surprised and happy," Lee says. "I did not think I would score that high."
He was not sure he had the right answers to some of the questions in the verbal section of the three-hour test he took in December at Cedar Cliff High School.
Lee first took the test as a seventh-grader as part of a program offered by Johns Hopkins University through its Center for Talented Youth (CTY).
He says he felt odd taking the test that first time in a room with mostly high school students and only one or two other middle school youth.
The score on his first SAT was 1410.
Top scores family tradition
In June 2003 his brother Ross scored a perfect 1600 on the SAT as a junior at Mechanicsburg High School. That topped the oldest brother, Alan, who had 1520 on the exam.
"Lee is the smartest one in the family," says Alan, who, along with Ross, attends Yale University. "I am very excited he is following in our footsteps."
Gifted support teacher Tanya Morret says Lee Kennedy-Shaffer is a "super soaker sponge" when it comes to absorbing knowledge.
"We are so proud of him," says Morret, who taught Lee in the fifth, sixth and seventh grades. "He is so well read... an excellent researcher. He takes on every challenge and gives it his all."
But she says he is very modest about his past success.
She adds Lee keeps busy as a student year-round and strives to take courses ahead of his grade level where appropriate and when the opportunity presents itself.
"He really makes us think outside of the box when it comes to offering him activities that keep him engaged," says Morret, adding he is active in MathCounts, History Day and academic Quiz Bowl.
As far as she knows, Lee Kennedy-Shaffer is the first eighth-grader in Mechanicsburg history to score a 1600 on the exam.
She adds that, while it is important to celebrate this achievement, other Mechanicsburg Middle School students take the SAT and post good results, too.
An SAT preparation course is part of the normal curriculum for gifted students at the school, Morret says.
Lee Kennedy-Shaffer credits brother Ross for helping him prepare for the math section of the SAT.
Older brother Alan attributes it to family.
"When your mother is a high school math teacher and your father is a history professor... doing well in school is expected," he says.
Top 3 percent
CTY Talent Searches identify, assess and recognize students with exceptional mathematical and/or verbal reasoning abilities, according to its Web site, www.cty.jhu.edu.
Students qualify for participation by scoring at or above the 97th percentile on a national aptitude or achievement test.
The program gives students the opportunity to take a test designed for older students to not only reveal more about their academic ability but allow them to compare results and learn about opportunities.
Aside from academics, Lee Kennedy-Shaffer is active in soccer, tennis and the school jazz band. He enjoys watching TV, building models and playing the saxophone. His favorite subjects are math and history.
