Some good advice from his father and following his regular routine on test day led to Carson Cato accomplish something very few people do — earn a perfect score on the ACT.
Cato, a junior from Bryant at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, earned the score — a composite 36 — during a Universal ACT exam at the school on March 1. All juniors at the school were required to take the test day regardless of the number times they had previously taken the test or the score they received.
If he had not been required to take the test again, Cato would have been happy with his most recent previous score — a 35. He had taken the test three times already and thought he was done. He first took the test in seventh grade as part of the Duke Talent Identification Program. He scored a 26. He then took it twice more in the ninth and 10th grades, improving each time — a 32 then the 35.
“It really depends on if you are happy with your score,” Cato said on the deciding factor of taking the test again. “I was done in 10th grade, but I knew I was going to have to take it again. I know someone who was content with their score in the ninth grade. You have to decide if you think you can do better and does it matter if you do.”
Cato said he was surprised to find out he had received a perfect score. He said he usually gets a feeling about how well he did on the test after taking it. While he knew he did well on it again, he didn’t feel that great. “I wasn’t expecting a 36,” he said.
He said information provided to him said that of the more than 2 million students who took the ACT last year, only 1,500 received a perfect score. The composite score is calculated by averaging the scores of four subsections — reading, math, science and English.
“The statistic they gave is that only one-tenth of one percent of people who take the test make a 36 on it,” Cato said.
Early in his ACT test-taking career, Cato said his science subscore dropped between tests although his overall score improved. That’s when his father told him to quit thinking too much about the question and go with his first instinct on the answer.
“He said that while I was taking the science section, don’t think about it,” Cato said. “He said I was thinking too much and second-guessing myself. He said read the question, find the answer and move on.
“I would always have problems with time during the test, but after he told me that, I was done five minutes early.”
He said his father wrote “You did it!” on the envelope in which a letter with his score arrived in the mail. His mother told him “You won the ACT!”
“My mom thought I was joking the last time (when he scored a 35). This time she was really proud of me, of course,” he said.
Cato said he didn’t do anything special to prepare for the latest test. In the past, he would usually try to take some practice tests or answer practice questions on his phone. He also followed his regular routine, something he said he would recommend to everyone who is going to take the test.
“They always say eat a good breakfast or get a good night’s sleep the night before. I don’t think you should try to change your daily schedule. For example, I eat a Pop-Tart every morning for breakfast. So that morning I ate a Pop-Tart. If you want to get eight hours of sleep the night before, start that a week before the test, not the night before. If you’re used to getting six or seven hours of sleep, keep getting six or seven hours of sleep,” he said.
One piece of advice he did follow was to bring a jacket with him. You want to be comfortable in the testing room, he said. “You can take it off if you get too hot, but you can’t put on a jacket that you didn’t bring if you get cold,” he said.
Cato said he plans to study math and computer science in college. His dream school is MIT, but he’s considering several other programs such as Cal Tech and Washington University in St. Louis.