Jefferson juniors earn top scores on ACT

Jefferson High School juniors Benjamin Carpenter, Joseph Carpenter and Amy Wang earned perfect scores on the ACT. On average, less than one-tenth of one percent of students taking the ACT earn a top score of 36.

All three students participated in the district’s gifted and talented programs Elements (grades 1-2) and Dimensions Academy (grades 3-8) and have taken many Advanced Placement (AP) courses at the high school level. 

Benjamin Carpenter plays trombone in the Jefferson marching band and show choir band. 

Joseph Carpenter plays soccer at Jefferson, as well as piano and viola. 

Wang plays the flute in the Jefferson marching band and competes on the Science Olympiad and math teams. She takes a PSEO class at Normandale Community College.

The ACT exam 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. Some students also take the optional ACT 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 and provide evidence of student readiness for the academic rigors of postsecondary study.