A Filipino-American high schooler in Carson, California was recently recognized for earning a top score on the ACT college entrance exam.
Gerrick T. Cardenas, a senior at Bishop Montgomery High School, earned the highest possible ACT composite score of 36.
On average, only around one-tenth of 1 percent of students who take the ACT earn a top score. In the U.S. high school graduating class of 2017, only 2,760 out of more than 2 million graduates 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.
On November 7, the City Council of Carson highlighted Cardenas for his feat during its meeting. Joined by his parents Gerrick Cardenas and Sharon Tatel, Cardenas received a plaque from Mayor Albert Robles, Mayor Pro Tempore Jawane Hilton, and councilmembers Elito Santarina, Lula Davis-Holmes, and Cedric L. Hicks, Sr. (AJPress)
