Two Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts juniors earned a perfect score of 36 on a recent ACT test.
Nasya Choy of Conway and Rene Ramirez of Pearcy received the top score possible on the universal ACT test that was administered for all juniors in Arkansas in February. The ACT is a college-readiness exam many institutions of higher education use for entrance. It is composed of four sections — English, Mathematics, Reading and Science with a possible score of 1 to 36. A composite score is created by averaging the individual scores for the four sections.
Choy had come close to a perfect score previously scoring a 35 on two consecutive tests before taking the February exam.
“I thought I’d do the same as before since it’s hard to get the last point, but I think the prep I did helped a lot. I took a practice test every other weekend or so for the month leading up to it. That might have pushed my score up.”
Choy plans to study aerospace engineering in the future. She may try to double major in mechanical engineering or mathematics as well.
Ramirez was surprised when he received the score.
“I knew I would do well, but that’s more in the 34-35 range. I wasn’t really thinking about making a 36,” he said.
Ramirez had taken the exam three times prior to the February test — once during the summer after his freshman year when he scored a 31, during December of his sophomore year when he scored a 32 and then again in December of his junior year when he scored a 34.
To prepare for the most recent test, Ramirez took some practice tests under time constraints, “but I wasn’t consistent at all. I didn’t really study all too much compared to others that might have accomplished a perfect score.”
At this time, he is planning to study computer science but isn’t sure what direction that will lead him. “I’m not too sure what I want to do in that field as it is very broad,” he said.