In all of the years Shawneeq Pettey-Ford has been administering the HiSET Test, both as a mathematics teacher/program coordinator at Camden Community College and as ABS Program Manager for Hopeworks, she has never once seen anyone get a perfect score on a subtest of the HiSET. That is, until Miles Watson came along.
Miles got a perfect score on the Social Studies subtest of the HiSET—on his first try! He scored a 20 out of 20. “He is so intelligent,” says Shawneeq.
More recently, Miles passed all five subtests and earned his high school diploma. The actual document arrived in time for his birthday.
“Miles' older brother got his diploma with us,” says Shawneeq. Miles came in October 2020, when he was 16. His scores on the TABE (diagnostic) test were so off the charts, Shawneeq thought, “Wow. Miles, we need to register you now.”
She says Miles would have earned his diploma much sooner had there not been issues with his forms of identification. It also took a long time to get signed consent forms from his family. “The pandemic didn’t help, either,” says Shawneeq. In the interim, Miles went through the training and took lots of practice tests.
When Miles was able to take the five subtests of the HiSET—Language Arts, Writing, Mathematics, and Social Studies—he wanted to do more than just “pass.” He wanted to do his best. So on some tests, even though he got a passing score, he would ask Shawneeq if he could take the test again. “I’d tell him, ‘Miles, you passed!,” and he’d say, “Yeah, but I know I can do better.
“That’s Miles!,” says Shawneeq. “I am so excited to see what his future looks like!”
New Partnership Aligns Organizations' Missions of Uplifting Communities Through Access to Key Pathways for Success Camden, NJ – October 15, 2024 – Hopeworks, a nonprofit social enterprise dedicated to empowering young adults to establish living wage careers, is thrilled to announce a new partnership with The Foxwynd Foundation. The Foxwynd Foundation, through its Donor Advised […]
CAMDEN – Hopeworks, the Camden-based nonprofit that offers a variety of training programs that prepare young people to earn a livable wage in the workforce, has received a $660,000 grant to support students with scholarships as they learn to be EMTs and medical assistants. The Haines Family Foundation of Egg Harbor City, Atlantic County, awarded the […]
For a quarter century, the organization — which has offices in Camden and Kensington — has helped students realize big aspirations. Today, it offers computer training with trauma-informed care. How can someone even dare to hope? Where is hope when home is friends’ couches, a different one every week, when depression hangs like a heavy […]
