'Human Calculator' Plymouth Meeting Middle Schooler Earns Perfect Score In Math Competition

A Plymouth-Meeting resident and rising sixth grader in the Colonial School District has earned a perfect score in the Math Olympiads competition, according to a report in the Times Herald.

Nicknamed the “human calculator” by his 14-year-old sister, Zachary Porter, 11, will be taking seventh and eighth grade math classes in the upcoming spring, according to the report.

“He’s already taken a math course offered by Johns Hopkins (University), and he’ll probably continue to take advanced courses online,” his mother, Jennifer, told the Times Herald.

On of Zach’s teachers for his gifted class, Anna Mindel, recommended parents utilize www.bedtimemath.org and www.mathforum.org to keep their child’s math skills sharp in the summer months, the report states.

Zach’s younger sister added to that advice: “(Don’t be) afraid of making mistakes...Good mistakes, you learn from,” 10-year-old Jaclyn told the Times Herald.