Lafayette High Student Scores 36 on the ACT

Simone Marta, a rising senior at Lafayette High, recently earned a perfect composite score of 36 on the ACT.

She earned her perfect score during the April 9 test administered at her high school, a testing opportunity that the Rockwood School District offered to all district high school juniors at no cost to families.

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. Each year, a fraction of 1 percent of the students who take the ACT earn a perfect composite score of 36.

This was Marta’s first time taking the full ACT. She had earned a 32 on the pre-ACT, so she knew she was capable of a high score, but the 36 came as a very pleasant surprise.

“Everyone was really excited for me,” she said. “I had looked at a few practice resources, figured out the structure of the test and tried to use that to my advantage in learning how to take it.”

While Marta said she is interested in many different academic subjects, she especially enjoys math and computer science. She is still open as far as what she hopes to study after graduation, but fields related to computer science or economics appeal to her.

In addition to being a part of Lafayette’s chapter of the Mu Alpha Theta math honor society, Marta is a member of the school’s Philosophy Club.

“Philosophy offers the most interesting questions and ways of looking at the world, really interesting ways of interpreting the way things are,” she said.

Marta is still early in her college search, and she said her impressive ACT score will be beneficial as she charts her next steps.

“It’s definitely going to help with scholarships,” she said. “It helps in the application process.”