By Ginny Cooper
Journal staff writer
While most twins have many things in common, few share the same level of achievement that Matt and Stefanie Schoeneman do.
The 17-year-old Spain Park High School students each scored a perfect 36 on their ACT exams.
But they aren’t the only high achievers in the family. Last year, Matt and Stefanie’s older sister, Devon, also scored 36 on the ACT.
Their mother, Debbie Shoeneman, said having three children with perfect ACT scores has been very exciting for the family.
“I’m very proud of them. They’ve always been quite smart, quite accomplished,” she said.
The ACT college readiness assessment is a curriculum- and standards-based educational and career planning tool that assesses students’ academic readiness for college.
The ACT consists of four timed, multiple-choice tests: English, mathematics, reading and science. Each test is scored on a scale of 1-36, and a student’s composite score is the average of the four test scores.
Nationally, less than one-tenth of 1 percent of students who take the ACT earn the top score.
Among test takers in the high school graduating class of 2013, only 1,162 of more than 1.8 million students who took the test earned a composite score of 36, according to ACT records.
Stefanie said she set her sights on scoring a 36 on the ACT because she knew she had the potential to ace it and wanted to prove it.
Matt said his motivation for taking the test eight times was mostly fueled by sibling rivalry.
“Originally, I didn’t really care that much when Steph was first going for it, but after Steph got it, I really wanted it,” he said.
The twins said their sister Devon set the bar high when she scored a 36 on the ACT on her third attempt.
“I took the ACT three times, first in seventh grade, when I got a 27. In my sophomore year, I earned a 35. Then, in February of 2011, I finally got the 36,” Devon said.
Devon graduated from Spain Park High School in 2012 and is now a student at Northeastern University in Boston.
Perfect scores on the ACT aren’t the twins’ only accomplishments. Both students are very involved in their school as well.
Matt participates in the unofficial hockey team, plays saxophone in the band and is on Scholars Bowl team.
Stefanie is also involved in Scholars Bowl and in Amnesty International and the Gay Straight Alliance.
Both students are National Merit Scholars and are taking multiple Advanced Placement classes.
“AP classes have helped me get ready for the ACT, because you have to take standardized tests for the classes, and the teachers prepare you well for them,” Stefanie said.
The twins are now busy applying for college.
Stefanie said she wants to major in political science and work towards welfare and health care reform. She said that McGill University in Montreal is her first choice.
“I’m also thinking of NYU or Johns Hopkins,” she said.
Matt said he would like to return to his native city, Chicago, and study to become a neurologist at the University of Chicago.
“I’m also considering Auburn and UAB,” he said.
Steve and Debbie Schoeneman have two other high-achieving children: Michael, who earned a 29 on the ACT, and Erin, who scored a 31.
Debbie said reading was the key to her children’s success and said she started reading to them when they were infants.
“I have always encouraged them to read,” Debbie said.
The family also went to the library often when the children were young, and reading at home has always been highly encouraged, Debbie said. Debbie volunteers in a reading advocacy program offered through Birmingham City Schools.
Debbie said she and her husband set high standards for their children, and she thinks that has helped them achieve success.
“Our children have always been encouraged to strive for success on their own. Especially in middle school and high school, they are responsible for their own work and completing their assignments,” Debbie said. “It is also unacceptable in our home to claim to be ‘bad’ at any subject. With the right teacher, you can learn anything unless you have a learning disability. Our children are fortunate to be pretty smart, and they are expected to try to do something with the gifts God has given them.”
Debbie said she thinks the quality instruction the children have received in Hoover City Schools has also been integral to their achievements. The family moved to Hoover from Chicago eight years ago.
“Obviously, we have been in a place that can and did develop and nurture our children’s talents and take them where they were capable of being taken,” Debbie said. “That is a testament to the teachers and the administrators that work with our children. As (Spain Park High School Principal) Dr. Ken Jarnagin likes to say, ‘It takes the three stakeholders to be successful: students, parents and school teachers and administrators.’ We couldn’t agree more.”