NDP senior Keira McNelis received news that very few students across the nation hear. The letter read "A perfect score!"
McNelis earned the highest possible ACT Composite score of 36 on the ACT.
About one-quarter of 1% of students who take the ACT earn a top score. In the U.S. high school graduating class of 2024, only 3,041 out of 1.37 million students who took the ACT earned a top composite score of 36.
The ACT test consists of section tests in English, mathematics, reading, and science, each scored on a scale of 1–36. A student's Composite score is the average of the four section test scores. The score for ACT's optional writing test is reported separately and is not included in the ACT Composite score.
"When a student earns a top score of 36 on the ACT test, it opens doors to a promising future, demonstrating for colleges and universities that they are ready for the challenges ahead," ACT CEO Janet Godwin said. "This remarkable achievement is something we celebrate along with the student and their family."
For McNelis, this means she will attend her dream school, Dartmouth College, in the fall of 2026.
The ACT is a curriculum-based achievement exam that measures what students should have had the opportunity to learn in school. Students who earn a top Composite score have likely mastered all the skills and knowledge they will need to succeed in first-year college courses in the core subject areas.
"I'm very excited about my score," Keira said. "It makes my hard work worth it. But honestly, I want to thank my AP teachers for teaching me in such a way that the test made sense to me." She especially credits her math teachers through the years, Mrs. Flam, Mrs. Luensmann and Mrs. Barberio.
ACT scores are accepted by major four-year colleges and universities across the U.S., and they are one of the many criteria that inform admissions, scholarship awards, and course placement decisions.
NDP is hosting a practice ACT on Saturday, January 31, at 8 a.m. on our campus. Click here to register!
In addition to her outstanding academic record, Keira is also an accomplished singer, actress and cross-country runner.