Oradell Student Earns Perfect Score On ACT

ORADELL, NJ —Riley Kiernan did something that very few kids ever do: Get a perfect score on the ACT.

Riley Kiernan of Oradell, a junior at Bergen County Academies, earned a perfect score of 36.

The ACT is a three-hour exam consisting of English, math, reading, and science, sections, along with an optional writing section. Of the 2 million members of the class of 2018 who took the exam, just 2,760 earned a perfect score, or about two-tenths of 1 percent of students.

"We were pleasantly surprised at all of this," said Kiernan's mother, Jane. "We just thought, 'oh great, we're so proud. But then we were contacted by the school, and we got a letter from The Princeton Review, and we found out just how rare it is."

Kiernan is taking the SAT next week for the first time, with no prep work beforehand. He took the PSAT "on a whim" and got a 1420, his mom said.

"If it's standardized, he's going to knock it out of the park," Jane Kiernan said.

Kiernan has a strong interest in computer science and programming, his mother said.

According to The Princeton Review, the company that creates and administers the ACT, students who earn a 36 have likely mastered all the skills and knowledge they will need to succeed in first-year-college courses in the core subject areas.

"Your achievement on the ACT is significant and rare," ACT CEO Marten Roorda said in a letter to Kiernan. "Your exceptional scores will provide any college or university with ample evidence of your readiness for the academic rigors that lie ahead."

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com