Assumption High senior scores perfect 36 on ACT

MEET THE ACHIEVER

Achiever: Lauryn Grady

Age: 17

Grade: 12

School: Assumption High School

Achievement: Lauryn Grady scored a composite 36 on the September ACT, the highest score possible on the college entrance exam. She scored 36 on the individual tests in English and science, and 35 on math and reading. Lauryn, who turns 18 in December, is a senior at Assumption High School.

The facts: On average, fewer than one-tenth of 1 percent of students score a 36 on a given testing date, according to ACT. In 2016, 60 Kentucky students, including 29 Louisville-area students, made that score. As of the September testing, in 2017, 57 Kentucky students, including 18 Louisville-area students, have scored 36.

Lauryn’s history with the test: The September testing date was Lauryn’s fifth time taking the ACT. She got a 32 the first time she took it, before her junior year. She said she never got the same score twice and the scores didn’t follow any pattern, such as increasing a point each time. She said she predicted she’d score a 31 or a 36 on her final chance to take it. She acknowledged that a 32 is a good score, but explained that she was applying for scholarships which required a score of at least 33. “When I got higher scores, I decided to try and see if I could get a 36,” she said.

On preparing for the test: Lauryn had a tutor for math and took a class in order to prepare. She said she has always been a competitive person. “If someone else can do something, then I can, too,” she said. Running on the cross country and track teams has fueled her competitive nature.

Her strategy: “Everyone says it, but practice tests do help. And you have to be aware of your time. What gets most people is running out of time. On math, when I’m half way through, I try to be ahead of time, because the last half is harder. With reading, I like to know how much time I have. I spend eight minutes per section, which leaves me three minutes at the end to go back. That gives me some wiggle-room,” she said.

On the test: “It’s worked out well for me, but it’s not a very fair way” to evaluate students, she said. “Some people don’t have the means to do tutoring, so their score might be lower, and that hurts your chances at scholarships and getting in. It’s not that fair of a system, but I don’t know what would be better.”

Acknowledgements: “My parents have always been really supportive of me in doing my best, without putting a lot of pressure on me.” She said her teachers over the years, particularly her teachers Pam Conway and Fred Whittaker at St. Francis of Assisi, helped her establish a foundation of learning. She said four kids, in three consecutive graduating classes from grade school have scored 36 on the ACT. “And I did well in math because of my teacher Barb Lutmer.”

The day of the test: “I’d gotten a 35 the time before, and it was my last chance to take it because I was not going to be in town in October. I was sitting at the kitchen table, weirdly excited. I thought, ‘wait, this is a test, not parasailing, I shouldn’t be excited.’ But I wanted to make this one count.” Lauren found out her score the same day she went to the Bruno Mars concert; she said “it was a good day!”

On being “that kid who made the 36”: “People ask me for help on homework more now,” she said, adding that her parents brag about her score to their friends, but that “nothing’s changed.”

Besides the 36: Lauryn cares about the environment, which led her to start a short-term recycling program in the Olmsted Parks. She enjoys public speaking and thought she was good at it, but at a recent fund-raising event she was called upon to speak and blurted out a sentence and ran off the stage. "That’s what I get for bragging, I guess,” she said.

Lauryn’s hobbies: She enjoys cross country and track and participating in clubs at school.

Lauryn’s home life: She lives in the Highlands with her parents Susan and Matt Grady. Her older brother is a student at the University of Kentucky.

Teacher Quote: “Lauryn has a brilliant mind and a humble, beautiful spirit,” said teacher Barb Lutmer. “She doesn’t take herself too seriously but knows how to work hard and achieve her goals.”

Future plans: Lauryn thinks she will attend the University of Kentucky and intends to study computer science.