Three ACPS students earn perfect score on national PSAT/NMSQT exam

Press release from Alachua County Public Schools

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Three Alachua County Public School students from three different high schools have earned perfect scores on the national PSAT/NMSQT exam, placing them among the top 1% of all 3.5 million test takers.

William Bigger of Buchholz High School, Ethan Dodds of Eastside High School, and Sigrid Noah of Gainesville High School, all juniors, earned 1520 on the exam, including a perfect 760 score on the math section and 760 on the reading/writing section. Bigger also earned a perfect score on the PSAT/NMSQT in 2024.

The PSAT/NMSQT is taken in the fall each year by 10^th– and 11^th-graders nationally. The results are used to determine eligibility for the prestigious National Merit Scholarship program.

Before enrolling at Buchholz, Bigger attended the Center for Advanced Academics and Technology (CAAT) magnet program at Oak View Middle School. Besides taking many high-level courses at Buchholz, he is drum major of the band and principal trumpet in the Alachua County Youth Orchestra. He is also a member of the Buchholz Math Team and the music honor society. He credits a variety of reasons for his academic success.

“A quality education in Alachua County, good parenting, a lot of reading as a kid, and just a general acquisition of knowledge,” Bigger said.

Dodds is enrolled in the International Baccalaureate magnet program at Eastside High and attended the Lyceum magnet at Lincoln Middle School. He’s a member of the school band and the Alachua County Youth Orchestra, as well as the Eastside Math Team, Brain Bowl team, and Linguistics Club. He says the rigorous curriculum he’s been exposed to helped him on the exam.

“The fact that I’m in a higher-level math class than what was tested made it easier,” Dodds said. “I could use the problem-solving that I learned to answer some of the questions.”

Noah is enrolled in the Cambridge International magnet program at Gainesville High. Like Bigger, she also attended the CAAT magnet program at Oak View Middle School. At GHS, she’s involved with the National Honor Society, DECA, March of Dimes, and Canes for Gainesville. 

“I think it’s a cumulative thing,” Noah said. “I’ve had good teachers over the course of my education, an interest in learning, and I like reading. I think that all contributed in some way to the score.”