Source: dailyinterlake.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tessa Harmon at home with her dogs Primrose and Msaka, on Thursday in Evergreen. Harmon, a student at Stillwater Christian School, earned a perfect score on the ACT. (Brenda Ahearn\/Daily Inter Lake)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seventeen-year-old Tessa Harmon earned a perfect score of 36 on her first attempt taking the ACT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She can count herself among one-tenth of 1 percent of students taking the ACT who earn the highest possible score, according to www.act.org.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI expected a good score, but not a perfect score,\u201d said Harmon, who will be a senior at Stillwater Christian School in the fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ACT is a national standardized college entrance exam that covers English, reading, science and math. Each subject is scored on a 1 to 36 scale. Using the same scale, students are also given a composite score, which is the average of the four subjects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although she got the highest possible score \u2014 \u201cI technically got one question wrong on the test,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s really frustrating for me because I had the right answer and changed it to the wrong answer. I was going to change it back to the right answer when timer ran out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The test also has an optional writing component, which Harmon took, that is graded differently and does not factor into the composite score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To prepare, she purchased a test prep guide targeted to students looking to earn a top score and studied it in the two months preceding the test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was not using it to aim for the perfect score, but it worked,\u201d she said with a laugh, acknowledging that natural ability was a big factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think you can study for it, but I think I\u2019ve been blessed with a quick mind,\u201d said Harmon, who currently has a 4.0 GPA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A perfect score doesn\u2019t necessarily come from cramming in the days or weeks preceding the test, but draws from knowledge absorbed over years spent in the classrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a lot about critical thinking, making sure you\u2019re paying attention,\u201d Harmon said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Harmon said she\u2019s also a student who prefers to go into a test over-prepared, arming herself with dozens of pencils, for example, to quell any pre-test jitters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen I get in there \u2014 I get into the zone and it\u2019s all about the test,\u201d Harmon said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to the ACT, Harmon has taken the SAT, another standardized national college entrance exam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI got a good score, but not as good as I\u2019d like, so I will be taking it again,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Harmon has applied to two out-of-state colleges, so far, and plans to apply to more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve heard from one and have been admitted. I\u2019m waiting for a decision on the other one,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She is thinking about studying pre-law, noting that one of her favorite classes at Stillwater is rhetoric or \u201cthe art of speaking and writing effectively.\u201d Within the program, she enjoys rhetorical arguments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI mean it sounds odd, but I like arguing,\u201d Harmon said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it\u2019s not the type of arguing one might imagine as a shouting match, but a \u201cwell-informed conversation with one another,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Harmon is a member of the National Honor Society, math club and choir. She also serves in a student leadership role as one of the school\u2019s \u201chouse captains.\u201d These captains help lead groups of 30 students who are assigned to a \u201chouse\u201d for the duration of their high school experience. She currently works a summer job at Glacier Shave Ice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She is the daughter of Mike and Sandy Harmon of Kalispell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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