Brooke Davis, junior, knew her ACT score had come in that morning, Dec. 19. She knew it was ready to be checked and how much it mattered. But she also knew the first order of business: her AP Government final. So for the first chunk of the day, she let it be, her anxieties elsewhere.

But when Davis finally turned on her phone to access the testing website, and saw the 36 staring back at her, she couldn’t hide her shock.

“I was really excited. I was really thankful to my teachers and those who helped me,” Davis said.

Davis said she felt an overwhelming sense of relief for one primary reason.

“I was just really grateful that I wouldn’t have to take it again,” Davis said. “I know that it’s gonna help me for my future as well so that’s very exciting, but short term, I don’t want to take the test again.”

Davis said she prepared for the ACT by studying for other standardized tests.

“I did a lot of studying on the PSAT because you can only take that once, so I was really concerned about what my grade was gonna be on that and how I can get a high score on that,” Davis said. “I feel like preparing for that helped me with the ACT because it’s different but they’re all standardized tests.”

According to ACT, 0.136 percent of students in the country achieve a 36 on the ACT. However, nine active students at MHS have perfect ACT scores, a statistic Principal Dr. Greg Mathison attributes to the excellent resources available around RSD.

“We know we have great kids and a fantastic staff,” Dr. Mathison said. “It’s not just our current staff at MHS. It takes K-12 to prepare a student to be able to take these high stakes exams.”

The current perfect scores also include seniors William An, Michelle Li, Michael Wu, and Eric Chien; juniors Jacob Besch and Rachel Pang; and sophomore Sriya Kosaraju.

Dr. Mathison said the sheer number of perfect scores makes this year a special one.

“Typically, in a given year, we may have one or two, maybe three students,” Dr. Mathison said. “But to have nine is just phenomenal. I smile every time I say it, not because of the reflection of our school, but because it’s a reflection of the possibilities those students are going to have.”

Sydney Ring, senior, earned a perfect score in April of her junior year. She said the achievement represents years of schooling and preparation.

“I didn’t do too much to prepare because I’m naturally good at standardized tests,” Ring said.

Though she is proud of the score, Ring said she doubts it will open doors past college.

“This score will help me for scholarships and college but I don’t see it helping me career-wise since I want to be a forensic pathologist,” Ring said.