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!”
The nonprofit provides paid training, career support and real work to help 17- to-26-year-olds move into full-time jobs averaging $43K a year. In a bright room at Hopeworks Kensington, young adults sit at computers learning to code, build websites and prepare for careers many once thought were out of reach. Some come in unsure of […]
The Rutgers Camden Campus Center was transformed into a high-energy hub of professional development last week as Hopeworks hosted its third annual HOPE Summit. Headlined by Truist Bank, the event served as a critical bridge between young adults in the region and some of the most influential employers in the Greater Philadelphia area. The summit is a cornerstone of […]
Headlined by Truist Bank, the event removed access barriers to career readiness, connecting Camden, NJ – March 16, 2026 – On Thursday, March 12, Hopeworks, a social enterprise dedicated toempowering young adults to establish living wage careers, hosted its third annual HOPE Summit at theRutgers Camden Campus Center. Headlined by sponsor Truist Bank, the summit […]
