Achieving 100 per cent on an exam is no easy feat, but a handful of high school students in Rocky View County and Airdrie were able to rise to the challenge this school year, and were honoured for the achievement at a recent school board meeting.
Six students from four schools within the Rocky View Schools (RVS) division achieved academic excellence while writing their diploma exams this January, earning 100 per cent on the tests in certain subjects.
Bert Church High School senior, Andrew Fallow, was one of the six RVS students to join the “100 per cent club” this term. He achieved the perfect grade after acing the Math 30-1 exam.
Leading up to the test, Fallow said he put in hours of studying and hard work. He said a main factor in his successful score was writing practice and diploma-style questions.
He added when it comes to math, repetition is key.
“I think a lot of what worked for me, with math at least, is just a lot of repetition and I used the program Quest A+ which has a whole bunch of released diplomas,” Fallow said.
Setting his sights on a high grade for the diploma, Fallow prioritized studying at least 30 minutes a day, starting about a month before the exam.
Crediting his match teacher, Fallow said he was taught the course material in way that he could easily absorb the information.
“I felt like I could really understand it and it really made sense to me,” he said.
One of the major challenges Fallow faced was doubt. He mentioned he has had test anxiety before, and that he was doing his best not to doubt himself.
The morning of the test, Fallow said he tried to focus on the exam and block out any thoughts of what he might have done to prepare better.
After the test was finished, Fallow went directly to his math teacher to put his mind at ease. He wanted some assurance that he had answered some of the questions properly.
“I asked about a couple of specific questions, and she gave me some confirmation that what I was doing was the correct way to do it,” he said. “So that kind of helped to ease my anxiety about it.”
Judging from the 100 per cent he scored on the diploma, his hard work and focus paid off.
With exam grades being progressively released, Fallow waited in anticipation for his math grade. It was the last of his grades to be released, and he said he was shocked once he found out he had aced it.
“I had a feeling of disbelief that I had actually achieved that,” he said. “I was quite pleasantly surprised by it.”
After graduating next month, Fallow said he plans to attend the University of Calgary. But rather than major in a math-focused discipline, the Grade 12 student said he intends to study music.
Other RVS students who achieved 100 per cent on their diplomas this year included Hannah Gillcrist, Liam Berry, and Will Kraus, who all attend Springbank Community High School. Trajan Stefanik from W.G. Murdoch School in Crossfield and Marissa Jackson from Beiseker Community School were also able to score perfectly on one of their diploma exams.
