Mount Greenwood Teen Earns Perfect Score On ACT

CHICAGO — A Mount Greenwood teen has achieved a perfect score on a recent ACT exam. Jack Molenhouse, a junior at Marist High School in Chicago, got the highest score possible of 36. On average, less than one-tenth of one percent of students who take the ACT earns the 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.

Molenhouse (Mt. Greenwood) is a member of the math team and National Honor Society. He also served as a hockey team captain this season, leading the squad to growing success on and off the ice. Molenhouse scored a 34 on his first ACT, and hoped he could improve. He could not believe it when he saw his results, and said he ran around his house in excitement. Molenhouse’s list of potential colleges is long, although Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is at the top. He hopes to pursue a career in engineering.

The ACT consists of tests in English, mathematics, reading and science. Each test is scored on a scale of 1 to 36, and a student's composite score is the average of the four test scores. Some students also take ACT’s optional writing test, but the score for that test is reported separately and is not included within the ACT composite score. ACT test scores are accepted by all major U.S. colleges. Exceptional scores of 36 provide colleges with evidence of student readiness for the academic rigors that lie ahead.

Marist offers test preparation classes on campus for all standardized tests, along with a strong curriculum that readies students for exam content. Fellow Marist junior Kyle Kohn, of Lemont, also scored a perfect 36 on the ACT. Other recent graduates who scored 36 include Ed Stifter ’19, Samanatha Reidy ’18, Becca Valek ’17, Jason Phelan ’16, Andrew Lynch ’10 and Peter O’Malley ’04.