Tyler Legacy junior achieves perfect ACT score

Published 5:30 am Friday, March 8, 2024

William Barker, a junior at Tyler Legacy High School, earned the highest possible ACT composite score of 36 — a feat achieved by less than 0.18% of students who take the entrance exam.

In the U.S. high school graduating class of 2023, only 2,542 out of 1.39 million students who took the ACT earned a perfect composite score.

“Will is an exceptional student who works hard and exemplifies the qualities of leadership that we want to see in all of our Red Raiders,” Tyler Legacy High School Dean of Instruction Kala Morrow said. “He is extremely driven and focused on academic success, and we congratulate him on this amazing accomplishment. We are so proud of Will and cannot wait to see what the future has in store for him.”

The ACT consists of tests in English, mathematics, reading and science, each scored on a scale of 1–36. A student’s composite score is the average of the four test scores. A student’s perfect score of 36 will provide any college or university with ample evidence of their readiness for the academic rigors that lie ahead.

Legacy English Teacher Keith Showen described Barker as ‘sharply intelligent and gifted and approaches assignments with authenticity, reasoning, and an impressive demeanor.’

According to Mitchell Ray, Legacy Physics Teacher, Barker is a highly thoughtful and motivated individual with an unmatched work ethic, earning pride from those who know him.