23 Whitney Young High School students get perfect ACT scores
23 students at Whitney Young High School, which is part of CPS, got perfect ACT scores, the most in the West Loop school’s history.
By John Garcia
Friday, May 30, 2025
CHICAGO (WLS) — Twenty three students at Whitney Young High School got perfect scores on their ACTs.
It’s the most the West Loop Chicago public school has ever seen.
Less than 1 percent of test takers get a perfect score of 36.
Whitney Young will recognize their hard work at a special ceremony Monday morning.
“We are incredibly proud of these outstanding students and their exceptional achievement,” Whitney Young Principal Rickey Harris said. “These perfect scores are a testament to our students’ hard work, intellectual curiosity, and commitment to academic excellence, as well as the quality of education and support they receive from our dedicated faculty and staff.”
The ACT organization reported that the average composite ACT score for Illinois in 2024 was 24.5, compared to a national average of 19.4.
The ACT measures students’ knowledge and skills in English, mathematics, reading, writing and science reasoning for college preparedness, a Whitney Young school official said in a news release.
“This achievement reflects not just individual student success, but the collective effort of our teachers, staff, families, and entire school community,” Whitney Young Student Guidance Director Alison Melton said. “Our teachers, counselors, and support staff work tirelessly to create an environment where students can reach their full potential, and these results show that our approach is making a meaningful difference.”
There are more than 400 students in the Whitney Young high school junior class. And nearly 5 percent of them got a perfect score on the ACT this spring.
They had to crowd into the frame in order to get a picture of all the Whitney Young students. This is not normal. One or two perfect scores are typically good.
Harris first looked at the ACT results and thought there was a mistake.
“I’m counting, and get to 15 and I had to stop. ‘I must be reading this wrong,'” he said.
But he was not wrong.
For comparison, ABC7 Chicago did a story in 2018 when the school also had a great showing on the test, with five students getting a perfect score.
This year is nearly five times as many, including Keith Xin, who already has a perfect 4.0 grade point average, and now has a test score to match.
“After the test, I thought I did pretty well, but I didn’t expect to get a perfect on it,” Xin said.
Ben Fiedor has tutored nearly a thousand students in preparation for the test.
“It’s a very rare feat to get perfect across the board because they are testing on lots of different skills,” said Fiedor, with Huntington Learning Center-Schaumburg.
As the incoming student council president, Xin is pretty well-rounded. But he’s not sure about what he’ll study in college.
“I think something in the medical field, but I’m not sure what yet,” Xin said.
Xin says he plans to start looking at colleges this summer.
He and his classmates are likely to be flooded with scholarship offers.
But he says he’s not going to become consumed with it.
He wants to enjoy being a teenager also.