Marian Junior Daniel O'Shea Earns Perfect ACT Score

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL — Daniel O'Shea, a junior at Marian Catholic High School has earned a perfect score on his ACT test.

O'Shea, of Munster, Ind., joins the elite group of top-scorers across the county. About two-tenths of 1 percent of students who take the ACT earn the top score of 36.

For last year's U.S. high school graduating classes, that means only 3,741 out of more than 1.9 million students who took the ACT earned that perfect composite score.

“Your achievement on the ACT is significant and rare. Your exceptional scores will provide any college or university with ample evidence of your readiness for the academic rigors that lie ahead," ACT CEO Marten Roorda wrote to O'Shea in a letter announcing the achievement.

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. The score for ACT’s optional writing test is reported separately and is not included within the ACT composite score.

It is a curriculum-based achievement exam that measures what students have learned in school. Students who earn a 36 composite score have likely mastered all of the skills and knowledge they will need to succeed in first-year college courses in the core subject areas.

ACT scores are accepted by all major four-year colleges and universities across the US.