The secret of the 36: How students say they achieved that perfect ACT score

SALT LAKE CITY — It's Tuesday afternoon, and in her Salt Lake City home, Rebecca Nickerson is twirling her pencil in her hand as she tries to solve a crossword puzzle. This is part of the 16-year-old's after-school routine — come home, do a couple of crossword puzzles, finish homework, read, teach herself how to play the guitar.

The sophomore at West High School isn't sure what she wants to do with her life, probably something that includes math and science and is "fun," but her opportunities became even wider in late December when she found out she got a 36 on the ACT.

Nickerson was one of just a handful in Utah to get the highest score possible on the standardized college admission exam in the past year.

The ACT is broken up into four main parts: English, math, reading and science, with the option of a writing portion. Students are then given a score of 1 to 36 on each section, and the average score is the composite or final score.

Fewer than one-tenth of 1 percent of students get a final score of 36, says Nancy Owen, ACT media relations specialist. In 2010, about 1.56 million students took the ACT and 588 got the top score, she said. In 2009, 1.48 million took the test and 638 got a top score.

The average national score in 2010 was 21, just slightly lower than in years past; Utah's average in 2010 was 21.8.

In Utah last year, just seven graduating seniors got a perfect score. And last month, five students (ages 16 to 18) were recognized at a banquet for getting a 36. They also got a glass plaque shaped like Utah that said "'The perfect score' of 36" on the front.

Judah Evangelista, a senior at Kanab High School, is the first in at least 12 years from his school to get a perfect score.

He took the ACT in April 2010 and got a 34 and was happy with the outcome, but took the test again in October because he wanted to complete the writing portion of the test.

"About a month after the test I signed in on the school computer to look at my score," Evangelista said. "I just kept staring at the score in disbelief. Then I jumped up and hugged everyone I knew in the room."

Evangelista said he took a practice test every week for a month leading up to the first time he took the ACT. The second time, he was able to just relax. It is about having a passion for learning, he said. He also recommends people take at least two practice exams before taking the test.