Prairie Grove Student Aces ACT

LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER Roy McKenzie, a sophomore at Prairie Grove High School, scored a 36 on the ACT exam in December. It was only his second time as a high school student to take the exam.
LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER Roy McKenzie, a sophomore at Prairie Grove High School, scored a 36 on the ACT exam in December. It was only his second time as a high school student to take the exam.

PRAIRIE GROVE -- As a 7th grader, Roy McKenzie of Prairie Grove scored a 29 on the ACT exam for college-bound students. This past September, as a sophomore, McKenzie improved his score to a 34. With the highest possible score, a 36, looming before him, McKenzie decided to try again in December.

This time, he nailed it.

"A 34 is just as good as a 36 as far as getting into a school but it was kinda taunting to be so close," McKenzie said, noting a 34 and 36 are close as far as percentage-wise. "But a 36 looks a lot better to colleges."

McKenzie said he felt confident after taking both the September and December exams. His thought, he said, was, "We'll see what I get."

Ron Bond, Prairie Grove High principal, has been with the school district 14 years and he said McKenzie is the first student during that time to score a 36 on the ACT. McKenzie may be the first student in the school's history to make a 36 but Bond said he can't answer that question without doing some research first.

"As far as him being a sophomore, that's very impressive," Bond said about McKenzie. "He's a delight and he wants to learn. I'm very proud of him and can't wait to see what he will achieve."

According to Ed Colby, ACT spokesman, 26,821 students in Arkansas took the exam in 2014 and only nine scored a composite 36. The ACT website shows the average score in Arkansas last year was a 20.4. The ACT consists of four multiple-choice tests in English, mathematics, reading and science, with each test scored on a scale of 1 to 36. The composite score is the average of the four test scores.

"So not very many were able to achieve that score in Arkansas," Kolby said, adding that in general, less than 1/10th of 1 percent of students nationwide score a 36.

McKenzie's list of academic studies and extra-curricular activities is impressive.

He is a member of the high school's Quiz Bowl team, Academic Competition in Education team and is taking several Advanced Placement courses this year. One is AP Calculus AB, a high school senior level course. McKenzie is almost three years ahead of most high school students for advanced math. In addition, McKenzie is studying independently this year so he can take two other AP tests in the spring, Comparative Government and Computer Science.

He enrolled in an evening course at the University of Arkansas for the semester and will receive concurrent credit for a World History college class. He plans to take other college courses next year.

McKenzie plays trumpet and trombone for the high school concert and jazz bands and plays guitar for winter drumline. He sings with Tiger Honor Choir and made All-Region Jazz Band and All-Region Senior Band. He also plays for the Arkansas Winds, a community band with members from throughout northwest Arkansas.

The day he took the December ACT test, he sat for the test in the morning, practiced with All-Region Band in the afternoon and presented a concert that night.

His list continues.

Last summer, "just for fun," he signed up for two online classes, baseball statistics and introduction to biology.

As a freshman, McKenzie took AP Government and Politics and from that class, he became interested in politics.

"I loved it," he said.

He contacted the president of Young Democrats of Arkansas and then founded Prairie Grove Young Democrats. The group has 20 members who spent time canvassing and making phone calls prior to the General Election.

"Young people are really apathetic toward politics. I'm not and I want to help young people. It's more about getting people excited about government and politics," he said.

McKenzie plans to graduate from high school after his junior year and take his senior year off, traveling. He has relatives in Spain and family and friends in San Francisco, Calif.

Past that, he said he's not sure what he wants to do. He said he has a passion for math, loves politics and constitutional law is interesting to him. He loves music and said he plays his guitar all the time. He likes computers and computer science.

"Pretty much, everything interests me," McKenzie said, pointing out, "It's hard to draw the line."

He said many people tell him not to rush through high school. But McKenzie does not see it that way. He said he does not sit at home studying and likes to hang out with his friends and have fun. He said he does not believe he is missing anything.

"I'm enjoying high school. The problem is I just get a little bit bored. That's why I'm so involved," McKenzie said, adding, "Prairie Grove has done a great job of giving me more opportunities. I'm just getting to the end of what Prairie Grove has to offer."

Dustin Seaton, the district's Gifted and Talented coordinator, said gifted students like McKenzie are rare.

"It's fun to teach him but challenging. We've tried to do whatever we could to continue to challenge him," Seaton said. "Every teacher I know that has had him has become a better teacher because he's in their class. He asks extra questions and points out things constantly. It's exciting and challenging at the same time."

General News on 01/28/2015