Alexandra Paisley
By: Taylor Christensen | Royal Oak Review | Published February 20, 2024
ROYAL OAK— Shrine Catholic High School junior Alexandra Paisley was “shocked” when she opened up the envelope containing her ACT test results and saw that she scored a 36.
A 36 is a perfect score. According to the Rath Education Group, a test preparation and tutoring business, only 0.313% of students achieve such a score.
This was Paisley’s first time taking the test, which makes her feat that much more impressive.
“It was a really good feeling, knowing that all of the hard work I’ve put in is paying off,” Paisley said.
The ACT is a “curriculum-based education and career planning tool for high school students that assesses the mastery of college readiness standards,” according to act.org.
Paisley’s achievement has proven to her and her family that she is prepared to move into her senior year with confidence.
“I am definitely a lot more confident with the whole college application process, and just the fact that this part is kind of locked in is really cool, and now I don’t really have to worry about it anymore,” she said.
Her parents were extremely proud of her achievement.
“Her father and I are so proud of her; you know, we weren’t completely surprised,” her mother, Kristin Paisley, said. “We knew she would do well, and she is a great test-taker. When we saw her face after we saw her open the test score, it was an amazing feeling.”
To prepare for an exam like this, Paisley had taken a few practice tests, but she also said that her schoolwork throughout the years has helped her achieve this result.
Going into the test with confidence and a “chill” perspective is how she got through it.
“Once you get into it, you can just let it flow, and that worked for me really well,” she said.
A word of advice from Paisley to ACT test takers is to focus on hard work and practicing as much as possible. She also said students should go in without nerves, because they can always take the test again.
Looking to the future, Paisley is thinking about going to the University of Michigan and choosing a major related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics, but she is not 100% sure yet.
Shrine Catholic High School said in a press release that administrators and her teachers are all happy and extremely proud of Paisley for this “outstanding academic accomplishment.”