Nationwide — Twenty-three students at Whitney Young Magnet High School in Chicago, Illinois, including several African American students, scored a perfect 36 on the ACT this year.
Achieving a perfect score is an extraordinary academic feat that places a student in the top fraction of test-takers nationwide—less than 0.5% reach this pinnacle each year. The test measures proficiency in English, math, reading, and science, requiring not only deep knowledge but also exceptional time management and focus. Back in 2018, only five students reached this mark.
The school’s principal, Rickey Harris, called it a historic moment. He praised the students’ discipline and hard work, comparing them to Michael Jordan, who famously wore the number 23.
“Just like MJ, our 23 didn’t settle for average,” Harris told WLBT. “Michael Jordan once said, ‘I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come.’ Today, you all are living proof of that.”
The school celebrated these students as part of an elite group making history in Chicago and across the country.
For a single student to earn a perfect score is rare enough, but for 23 students at the same school to accomplish this simultaneously is almost unheard of. Such a scenario defies statistical odds given how staggeringly difficult this level of uniform excellence is to achieve under normal circumstances.