Marist High School Junior from Lemont Lands Perfect Score on ACT

The third time was the charm for a Marist High School junior who recently took the ACT exam.

On his third attempt at the exam, Jason Phelan earned a top composite score of 36. Phelan is the third Marist student to score a 36 in the past 11 years. On average, less than one-tenth of one percent of students who take the ACT earns the top score. Among test takers in the high school graduating class of 2014, only 1,407 of nearly 1.85 million students earned a composite score of 36.

Phelan had taken the exam twice before—and he increased his score by one point on each attempt. Phelan, a Lemont resident, said it was his goal to attain the top score. He did not take a prep class, explaining that he felt that his classes at Marist had prepared him well enough.

Phelan says his number one college choice is the University of Chicago. He plans to major in physics and math and pursue a career in research. Phelan hopes to obtain hands-on experience this summer with a Chicagoland laboratory. While at Marist, Phelan was a two-year member of the boys basketball team, and now serves as the team’s statistician. He is a member of the school’s successful math team and is the vice-president of the National Honor Society.

The ACT consists of tests in English, mathematics, reading and science. Each test is scored on a scale of 1-36, 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 High School offers test preparation classes on campus for all standardized tests, along with a strong curriculum that readies students for exam content.

PHOTO: Principal Larry Tucker (right) announced junior Jason Phelan had scored a 36 on the ACT, a score not even one percent of test takers achieve nationally.

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