ICSD held its annual Spring Commendation ceremony on March 13, 2018 in Kulp Auditorium. Among recipients of certificates and awards were the maintenance workers of the district, third graders from Northeast Elementary School, and a basketball player. Attendees were surprised to hear Dr. Luvelle Brown announce that a certificate would be awarded to Isaiah Gutman ’19 for his performance on an unofficially administered Academically Competitive Test (ACT). According to Dr. Brown, Gutman scored an impressive 32 on the practice exam, what Gutman himself characterized as a big improvement. “I could have done better on Science, since I got a 27, but I was really pleased with my 33 on Reading. I think this means I have a chance at getting a 30 on the actual ACT!”
Sources close to the Commendation Committee have reported that Gutman was nominated after his teacher, Mr. Kirk, overheard him bragging about his score during a test. “His classmates all seemed super impressed by it. I think they have a hard time imagining a number that high,” Mr. Kirk said.
For days after the ceremony, IHS juniors and seniors could not stop talking about Gutman’s performance, likening it to the Golden State Warriors’ play in the first four games of the 2016 NBA Finals and the New York Yankees’ dominance in the first three games of the 2004 ALCS. However, not everyone was so appreciative. “They really give out trophies for everything nowadays, huh?” said one student. “If it were up to me, I’d only give out trophies to people who deserve it—the guys who show up first to the tutor’s office and leave last, those guys without the natural intelligence but who work hard to get a respectable score. No more of these participation trophies!”
Gutman, who has made an effort to mention that this was only his fourth practice test ever, not counting the 30 single sections he took, did not show up to school on March 16. Rumor has it that he sold his trophy for an SAT fee waiver.