Tampa Teen Aces ACT

TAMPA, FL — Acing the ACT is an accomplishment only a few thousand high school students across the country manage to do each year. Tampa’s John Clayton Felletter is one of them.

Felletter, 17, recently earned the ACT’s highest possible score of 36. The Tampa Catholic High School junior’s score places him in a category that less than one-tenth of 1 percent of students manage to attain. In the U.S. high school graduating class of 2016, only 2,235 students earned a perfect composite score. An estimated 2.1 million students took the test.

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“Your achievement on the ACT is significant and rare,” Marten Roorda, ACT’s chief executive officer, wrote in a letter informing John and his parents, Walter and Janet, of the good news. “While test scores are just one of multiple criteria that most colleges consider when making admission decisions, your exceptional ACT composite score should prove helpful as you pursue your education and career goals.”

The ACT has four separate parts – mathematics, reading, science and English. Each part is scored on a sale of 1 to 36. A composite score is the average of the four individual test scores.

John credits others for his success.

"I just want to thank my parents and teachers for supporting me throughout my life as well as for giving the space to grow and develop the skills needed so that I could achieve at this level,” he told Patch. “I am extremely honored to be recognized for this achievement and I hope to live up to my potential and opportunity in my future."

The three-year letterman at Tampa Catholic has been a starter on the school’s lacrosse team since his freshman year and is now a captain. In addition, he is a member of the men’s swim team and is the only junior on the school’s science bowl team, which recently placed in the top eight at the North Florida Regional Science Bowl.

John holds a 4.5 grade point average and is a member of Tampa Catholic’s Campus Ministries team, the TC STEM Club and Debate Team. He was recently inducted into the National Honor Society and is a member of several other honor societies, including the National English Honor Society and the National Hispanic Honor Society.

The diversity of experiences John has enjoyed so far in high school is part of the advice he offers for other students striving to attain their goals.

“Take advantage of every chance you have inside and outside of school to participate in unique experiences and opportunities and do your best to soak up as much information from those around you as you can,” he said.

As for purely practical pre-test advice, he also had some to share. He suggested avoiding the urge “to cram heavily before the exam.” Sleep, he said, is the better option. Making sure to eat a “large and healthy breakfast” before sitting for the ACT is also something he recommends.

John is the grandson of Vincent John and Judith Kearns Felletter of Tampa and Joe and Mert Clayton of Belle Glade. He is set to serve on the camp staff at the Society of American Military Engineers Engineering and Construction Camp at the Air Force Academy this summer. He plans to major in engineering and biochemistry.

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Photo courtesy of Hill+Knowlton Strategies