Mountain Brook twins score 35 and perfect 36 on ACT
Published: Saturday, August 11, 2012, 6:45 AM
Miller Sisson scored a perfect 36 on the ACT, while his sister Ann scored 35. The twins will soon begin their senior year at Mountain Brook High. (The Birmingham News/Joe Songer)
MOUNTAIN BROOK, Alabama -- When Miller Sisson and his twin sister Ann got back their ACT test scores, they were a little surprised.
"I thought I did well, but I didn't think I'd done that well," Miller said.
Miller scored a perfect 36 on the ACT, while his sister Ann scored 35. The twins turned 17 this month and will soon begin their senior year at Mountain Brook High.
The ACT is a college admissions examination that is given six times a year and accepted by virtually every college in the nation. The test has 215 multiple-choice questions and takes about 3 hours and 30 minutes to complete, according to the ACT website.
The ACT has four parts -- English, reading, math and science. The highest a student can make on each part is 36, and the scores of the four parts are averaged into a composite. The average student scores a 21. Students scoring a 34, 35 or 36 on the test are among the top 1 percent in the country.
It wasn't their first attempt at the test. In December, they took it for the first time, with Miller scoring 32 and Ann earning a 31. But neither score was good enough for them, their mother Leigh Ann said.
"They took it cold the first time," she said. "They didn't do any preparation. We were certainly fine with their first scores. They felt like they could increase them. They both set goals for themselves. I was proud because it was something they wanted to do for themselves."
To prepare for their second attempt, the Sissons took a course with All Pencils Down, a test-preparation class in Hoover. They devoted about four hours each night to preparation, she said.
"I felt like they really helped my science and English," Miller said. "They helped me learn the nuances of the test. They showed how there are common types of questions on the test. Timing was also a big thing we worked on."
Ann said what also helped was the preparation they received in school.
"We're both fortunate to grow up in a great academic community," Ann said. "Our schools really got us ready. The background and education we've had up to this point was the difference. My friends did really well on the test too."
Neither Miller nor Ann know where they will attending college after graduation, but both feel their opportunities are much better with their scores.
"I don't know exactly where I want to go," Miller said. "But I hope this means I can go wherever I want."
