Joshua Yoon, Illinois Sixth Grader, Earns Perfect Score On SAT Math Section

It's a rare feat when a high school junior can earn a perfect score on the SAT's math section.

It's astonishing when a 12-year-old lands a perfect 800.

Joshua Yoon, a sixth grade student at Twin Groves Middle School in Buffalo Grove, Ill., took the SAT this year along with a group of high-achieving students who had earned top marks on the Illinois State Achievement Test, the Associated Press reports. When his results came in, Yoon was surprised to find he gotten every question right on the exam's math section.

Yoon told the Daily Herald he'd studied by "looking at a math book" and said he "kind of" expected the score. He told the newspaper he did "OK" on other parts of the test, and expressed interest in following in the footsteps of his father, a doctor specializing in foot and ankle injuries.

The school uses the college entrance exam to enroll students in advanced math classes, admitting students who score at least a 500 to attend classes run by the College of Lake County, according to Buffalo Grove Patch. District 96 was recognized last year when one sixth-grade student received the highest score across the county, with 740 points.

Sixth grader Yoon's score is a rare feat even among college-bound seniors; 10,052 reported a perfect 800 on the math section of the 2009 SAT, out of 1.53 million test-takers, according to CollegeConfidential.com.

Flickr photo by albertogp123.