Contact: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Friday, May 15, 2009

Alexandra Kiefer, a junior at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, notched a 36 this spring on the ACT college entrance exam – the highest possible composite score. Nationally, roughly 1/10 of 1 percent of test-takers achieves that feat. 

“I was really excited to get a perfect score. It was great to know I had done so well,” said Alexandra, who wasn’t at home when the good news arrived in the mail. “My mom opened it for me and called me on the phone and told me, and it was amazing.” 

An award-winning fencer, Alexandra is a member of the school’s Beta Club, the Spanish Honor Society and the Science National Honor Society. She hasn’t yet decided on a college; “I’m not exactly sure what I want to major in, but I want to be a doctor, so medical school, definitely.” 

She earned her top ACT score on testing in March; she also took the exam as a seventh-grader participating in the Duke TIPS program.

The ACT consists of tests in English, mathematics, reading and science. Each test is scored on a scale of 1-36. The composite score is the average of the four test scores. ACT scores are accepted by virtually all U.S. colleges and universities.