A perfect ACT test score.  Roughly, only about one-10th of 1 percent taking the test receives a top score each year.  This year, Anni Zhang of Baton Rouge Magnet High School was one of those few.  Zhang earned a top composite score of 36 on a recent ACT test.  Among test takers in the high school graduating class of 2011, only 704 of more than 1.6 million students taking the test earned such a score.
 
An 11th grader, Zhang currently is enrolled in American History Honors, Statistics Advanced Placement (AP), French IV honors, Chemistry II AP and Lab, English III AP and Economics AP.  The daughter of Cheng and Wei Li Zhang, she plans on taking all the AP tests. In the junior class, Zhang is ranked second with a cumulative grade point average of 4.7143.
 
“Last September 10 was the first time I took the ACT. I’m planning to take the SAT next January (2012). I have also taken the PSAT since freshman year, though it doesn’t count until this year, and I scored relatively well both times,” Zhang said.  “In the summer, I’m hoping to participate in an exchange student program to Korea sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.”
 
At school, Zhang also is in the French Club, Beta Club, STEM/Engineering Club (president) and Mu Alpha Theta Club. She has been active on the Baton Rouge Magnet High Varsity Swim Team since her freshman year and swims competitively at Crawfish Aquatics when not in school.  In addition, Zhang has played piano privately for 11 years, winning local, state and even national competitions. Last year, she won a senior concerto competition and played with the Louisiana Youth Orchestra in a recital. “In my free time, I CAN be found playing piano; reading Chinese, French or English books; or drawing and painting,” Zhang said.  “I’m still not sure of what I’m going to be in the future. Right now, I want to go to medical school, but I’m not sure exactly what area of study I will pursue.”
 
The ACT consists of tests in English, mathematics, reading and science. Each test is scored on a scale of 1-36, and a student's composite score is the average of the four test scores. Some students also take ACT’s optional Writing Test, but the score for that test is reported separately and is not included within the ACT composite score.  ACT test scores are accepted by all major U.S. colleges, and exceptional scores of 36 provide colleges with evidence of student readiness for the academic rigors that lie ahead.  For more information, contact Zhang or Principal Nanette McCann at (225) 383-0520.