Three groups of hareidi-religious young men from Jerusalem earned record scores on the pre-university psychometric exam recently. The groups' success proved that the success of a 30-man group of hareidi-religious students earlier in the year was not a one-time phenomenon. The first group, which scored overwhelmingly over the national average in the summer, made national news. The students hailed from extra-governmental schools where English is not taught and mathematics is taught on a relatively basic level. Their success came shortly after the government decided to continue funding to hareidi-religious high schools that do not teach a “core program” of math, English and science. Twelve percent of students in one of the latest groups scored higher than 700, putting them in the top five percent nationwide. The average score in that group was 575, 40 points higher than the national average. None of the students had taken the test in the past. In another group, 15 percent scored higher than 700, and 45 percent scored above 610. Nationwide, approximately 27 percent of students score higher than 610. The hareidi-religious students took the test after a four-month crash course designed for those taking the psychometric exam. The course was designed by EZ Way, and geared towards students with very little background in English or math, the two subjects that, along with Hebrew, are tested on the psychometric test. "The students began the course with an average score of 400 [on practice exams—ed.], but improved so much that they deviated from the national scale—80 percent were above the national average,” said EZ Way head, attorney Ehud Zeltner. In four months, the students succeeded in overtaking their counterparts who learned English throughout their school years, Zeltner said. Zeltner credited the students' strong grasp of Hebrew and their skill in linguistic analysis, gained by studying Talmud, for their success. “The argument has always been that the hareidi-religious system is detrimental to its graduates' chance to integrate into the workplace, but it turns out that the ability to memorize and the endless learning of yeshiva students helps them, and gives them learning skills in other fields as well,” he said. Most of the students in Zeltner's courses are older than the average psychometric exam test-taker. They are usually married with children, and most plan to go on to study engineering or programming in university in order to support their families.
