Poway High senior is perfect on the ACT

By Emily Sorensen

A Poway High School senior has joined an elite group this year: students who have earned a perfect score on the ACT.

Jacob Basinger, a straight-A student and FACEs scholar, earned a top composite score of 36 on his ACT, something an average of only one-tenth of students taking the ACT achieve. According to Katie Wacker of the ACT, out of 1.8 million students who took the ACT in 2013, Basinger was one of only 1,162 who earned a 36 on the exam.

“I really didn’t prepare for the exam,” said Basinger, who said he took the ACT, plus the additional, optional writing portion of the exam, at his parents’ urging, after receiving a “satisfying” score on his SAT. “They thought it would show consistency [if I took the ACT as well.]”

The ACT, which consists of four individual sections of English, math, reading and science, as well as an optional writing section, is graded by taking an average of all four or five scores. Basinger’s average was 36, the highest score possible. “I was told only a slim percentage get 36s,” said Basinger.

Basinger said that while he was surprised at the score, he wasn’t shocked by it. “I didn’t prepare for the test,” said Basinger, “so it was a little surprising that I got a perfect score.” Basinger also said he found the test “really easy,” because it was more fact-based than the SAT.

Susan Basinger, Basinger’s mother, said she thought he succeeded because he’s a calm test-taker. “He’s a very calm kid,” said Susan Basinger, “he doesn’t panic. He’s not a nervous test-taker.” She also attributed his success to his hard work. “Jacob has always worked very hard,” she said. “He learned all the material, and he was confident that he had learned it.”

Susan Basinger also praised the Poway Unified School District for its part in Basinger’s perfect ACT score. “The school system has led him here,” she said. “It’s a tremendous reflection on the [PUSD].”

A resident of Poway, Basinger runs track and field and is the vice president of PHS’s Make a Wish Club, where they try to raise money to make a child’s wish come true, much like the charity of the same name. Basinger said he also likes to surf, “as much as I can.”

Though he isn’t sure yet where he will be attending college, Basinger said he was thinking of double majoring in history and science, his two favorite subjects.