Watkins, who graduated in 2011, had partial access to the questions which run the entire pub-quiz, general-knowledge gamut, as he was involved in setting the quizzes for high-school level students.
At the high school level, Yonkers students taking the SAT reasoning test last spring had an average score of 422 in the verbal section and 426 in math, according to Eric Schoen, a district spokesman.
Alexa Shabecoff, the assistant dean for public service at Harvard Law School, said: "There is an uptick in global interest in public service that has trickled down to the high school level, and students go on to college and law school with a public service ethos".
Giannoulias agrees that improvement should begin at the high school level, citing student frustrations with remedial courses as a strong force driving the high dropout rate.
In a study carried out at the University of Johannesburg by Ionescu(2) over a sample of 114 mechanical engineering technology students, it was found that the lack of proper career advising at high school level for many students results in the wrong choice for tertiary education.
For example, interviews with both students and mentors about the role of competition in the team could help determine whether or not increased focus on winning competitions at the high school level is associated with students adopting a more static and specialized approach to role assignment.
At the high school level in Irvington, the Boces students take gym and lunch with Irvington High School students; academically qualified students can take honors Latin or advanced-placement classes.
Class sizes hover about 19 students, better than the state average of 20.4, and Asbury Park has one computer for every 1.6 students at the high school level, compared with one of four students statewide.
This type of instruction at the high school level not only introduces the students to the world of the research scientist but provides the students with opportunities to conduct their own authentic research project, potentially resulting in a scientific publication before entering college.
