6/3/2022 -- Gaayathri Binoj, Central High (pictured top, right) and Ibrahim Kuziez, West High (pictured bottom, right) scored a 36 -- the highest possible score -- on the ACT college admissions and placement exam. Both students took the test in April.

Binoj, who just completed her junior year, has not determined where she will attend university but is interested in studying biochemistry. After university, she wants to do something in medicine.

Kuziez hopes to attend Washington University to study computer science and is interested in a career in engineering. Outside of school, Kuziez enjoys playing soccer. Kuziez has just finished his junior year at West High.

Nationally, while the actual number of students earning the top score varies from year to year, on average, fewer than 1% of students who take the ACT earn a top score. In the U.S. high school graduating class of 2020, only 5,579 out of nearly 1.67 million students who took the ACT earned a composite score of 36.

The ACT consists of 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 test scores. The score for ACT’s optional writing test is reported separately and is not included within the ACT composite score.

The ACT is a curriculum-based achievement exam that measures what students have learned in school. Students who earn a 36 composite score have likely mastered all of the skills and knowledge they will need to succeed in first-year college courses in the core subject areas. ACT scores are accepted by all major four-year colleges and universities across the U.S.