Long Island chemistry teacher awards first perfect-score prize in 25 years
After 25 years of offering a cash prize to any student who achieved a perfect score on New York’s state chemistry exam, Long Island teacher Anthony Simonelli has finally paid out. His student Jojo Yawson scored 100 on the 2026 Regents chemistry exam, prompting Simonelli to visit the family home and present him with a signed $100 bill.
Simonelli said Yawson was the first and only student among 3,700 graded papers to earn a perfect score. Yawson’s mother called the achievement a triumph, while former students praised Simonelli’s teaching. He said he will raise the prize to $200 for the next student to get 100.
- Jojo Yawson scored 100 on New York’s 2026 chemistry exam.
- His teacher kept a 25-year promise and gave him $100.
- The next perfect score will earn a $200 prize.
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A Long Island teacher has offered a cash prize to students scoring perfectly on New York's state chemistry exam. Anthony Simonelli established this incentive 25 years ago to encourage excellence in a challenging subject. The offer reflects a personal commitment to rewarding exceptional achievement.
New York's Regents chemistry exam is a standardised test that high school students must complete as part of their education. The test assesses knowledge of core chemistry concepts and requires students to solve problems and demonstrate understanding. Achieving a perfect score of 100 is exceptionally difficult, as the test is designed to be comprehensive and demanding.
Perfect scores on major academic assessments carry significance because they represent the highest level of achievement and are rare enough to be noteworthy. For students in New York, performing well on Regents exams affects their academic records and prospects for further education. The rarity of achieving 100 per cent is what makes both the accomplishment and long-standing prize offers meaningful.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Teacher who promised cash prize to student who aced state test for 25 years finally gets to deliver”.