Perfect score: HHS student makes 36 on ACT

Got his score on the first try saying he didn’t have time to take it again

To achieve perfection in anything is a rare feat. And sometimes, doing so can carry a person far.

This seems like it will almost certainly be the case for David Broussard, a Hahnville High School senior who displayed his brilliance when he recorded a 36 on the ACT, the highest possible score one can receive on the test.

According to a recent ACT Profile Report, less than 1,600 students secured the elusive perfect score, out of 1.9 million students who took the test that year.

For Broussard, amazingly, the score didn’t quite come out of left field. On the practice test he took in his sophomore year, he scored a 34, so attempting to build on that was something he already had in mind. Still, it didn’t dull his excitement.

“I knew it would open up a lot of opportunities for me,” said Broussard, who plans to study computer science at the collegiate level.

Hahnville Assistant Principal Shawn Heiden, the school’s test coordinator, said he couldn’t recall seeing a perfect score anytime during his tenure with the school.

“It doesn’t happen often,” he said. “And it doesn’t come without a whole lot of hard work. As quiet and unassuming as he is, he doesn’t accept anything less than his best. And obviously the proof is in the pudding. He’s brilliant.”

Heiden said seeing the score for the first time almost instinctively makes one want to double-check things.

“You almost think it’s a typo the very first time you see it,” Heiden said. “It’s some kind of rarity for sure.”

Students can take the ACT multiple times if not satisfied with their original score. So one thing that makes Broussard’s score even more impressive is that it came on his first try, on the first test offered on campus.

“I didn’t want to go out of my way to pay to take it at another time,” Broussard said. “I knew I could always take it again if I had to. When I was done, I actually was expecting I had gotten several questions wrong, made a careless mistake here or there, because of me working quickly.”

Broussard said that before the ACT preparation process, he felt he was weaker in terms of his performance on timed tests. He went to work on fixing that, becoming familiar with the material he’d be faced with and becoming comfortable with what kind of shortcuts he could take during testing to save valuable seconds.

“I’m not going to be able to hit everything accurately,” he said. “But it’s all multiple choice. For me, it was kind of understanding which of these (answers) are close. Looking for context when reading, that kind of thing.”

He said he spent about 30 minutes a day in the three weeks leading up to the test, reading from different ACT preparation books.

“It gave me some insight how to pace myself,” he said. “I do think it helped me get mentally ready and to know what to expect.”

He hopes to attend an in-state college, though he doesn’t rule out venturing outward if a better fit materializes. His interest in computer science stems from a lifelong fascination with computers — he started programming in middle school, and he said he likes that it requires problem solving skills and challenges him to find creative solutions.

The process of applying at schools and for scholarships makes him a bit anxious, but he said it’s all still very exciting.

“They’re obviously going to (see the score),” he said. “And a lot of colleges might be looking for me as opposed to the other way around. I’m pretty excited for the future.”