After decades of bashing public schools and advocating for privatization, charters, and vouchers, grumpy education reformers should familiarize themselves with the grand successes of Sahli Negassi.
Sahli is a remarkable young man who recently learned that he scored a perfect 1600 on the SAT in reading and math.
He is a senior at West Orange High School in West Orange, New Jersey.
He didn’t go to a charter school or a fancy private school or a religious school, nor was he homeschooled. He went to public schools in West Orange.
Sahli was born in the U.S. to a family of Eritrean immigrants.
Nyah Marshall reported at NJ.com:
During his four years at West Orange High School, Sahli Negassi balanced two sports, served as president of two clubs and excelled in multiple Advanced Placement classes.
And as if that weren’t impressive enough, he recently achieved another milestone — one that fewer than a 1,000 students nationwide reach each year.
He received a perfect score on both the reading and math sections of the SAT. He hopes to be admitted to Harvard and eventually become a lawyer.
Negassi earned a near-perfect score on his first attempt, one that most would be happy with. But, he then took the test again and answered every question correctly, earning a 1600.
“I came into class and I was like, ‘I can do better,’” Negassi said.
Between classes and extracurriculars, he somehow found time to prepare for the test on his own, using free online resources….
His strategy, Negassi said, was all about preparation. Through practice questions, he learned that the SAT isn’t a test of intelligence — it’s about pattern recognition, memorization and time management, Negassi said.
“Preparation for the test fell on me, it was no tutor … it was me and whatever website I could find,” he said Thursday. “I was comfortable applying the skills I had trained and when the time came, it was no pressure.”
Negassi was born in New York City and raised in West Orange.
He credits his father, who taught him to read before he even entered grade school, with laying the foundation for his success. It was the love and sacrifice of his parents that instilled in him the unwavering determination he carries today, Negassi said.
Negassi was involved in many school activities.
A local West Orange newspaper wrote:
Beyond academics, Negassi is deeply involved in extracurricular activities at West Orange High School. He has been a dedicated member of the cross-country and track teamssince seventh grade and spent two seasons on the color guard. He is also the president of the math team, chapter president of the National Honor Society, a varsity chess team member and part of the Royal Strings ensemble. His involvement in multiple honor societies speaks to his well-rounded excellence.
Sahli played in the String Quartet of the West Orange Music Departnent and was inducted into its honor society two years ago. At the induction ceremony, The String Quartet (Theo Brinkerhoff, Andrew Chan, Alexa Dias, Maya Kirton, Sahli Negassi, Henry Pfeifer) performed “Air” from “The Water Music Suite” by Handel.
I would like to know more about his family, but little is said about them in the coverage. Nothing has been reported about when they immigrated to the U.S. or their occupations.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
If anyone is looking for the people who will truly make American great again, here is one of them.
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Immigrants contribute to “making America great.” We are a land of immigrants and descendants of those that came here looking for freedom and opportunity, and we must never forget how truly fortunate we are to have immigrants that contribute so much to our economy and culture. Congratulations to Sahli Negassi, an outstanding young man, to his parents that I am sure sacrificed a great deal, and to the teachers that guided Sahli in his pursuit of excellence.
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This is another reason why I find Professor Amy Wax’s claims that Black students are never in the top of the class at her college to be so strange.
I grew up in San Antonio, Texas, and attended a public high school with many outstanding African American students. One of my classmates was the valedictorian and later went on to become a physician. Many of my Black colleagues in LAUSD were also brilliant. I find it hard to believe that Professor Wax has never encountered students like this.
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This is great news, and it’s great to see this young man was involved in extracurricular activities as well. He obviously committed himself to his learning endeavors and discovered testing strategies as well. At the risk of sounding jaded, I’m just waiting for someone “important” to suggest that ALL students could achieve this if we just get the instruction “right” and scale it.
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I eagerly await the day when some researcher proves that all children can score on one extreme of the bell curve.
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You made me chuckle with that! That sounds like Daniel Koretz’s “myth of vanishing variance.”
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Two observations:
Please protect this family from ICE at all costs, and the local West Orange paper should know that six players is not a quartet.
Congrats on a job well-done, Sahli! You are going to make a difference one day.
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