Time management has always been a known key to success.
It is no different for two Wetumpka High School students. Juniors Christian Sprurill and Georgia Wyatt keep their schedules full with athletics, theater and classes. But good time management and lack of sleep from time to time have put the two on the radars of every college as they both recently scored a 36 on the ACT. It’s the top score available on the college entrance exam.
Both expected good scores but not necessarily the 36 after testing previously and working to improve. They took the test early this spring at the school as part of a requirement for the Alabama School Report Card.
“I noticed that I hadn’t bookmarked more than two questions,” Sprurill said. “I realized that I've gotten most of them right. I was expecting like a 33 or 34 on it. The 36 was unexpected.”
Sprurill just started Wetumpka High School in August. He moved to the area from Germany as his parents are in the military. Sprurill was more familiar with SAT but he paid attention as faculty staff prepared students for the test.
Through advisory periods, Sprurill and Wyatt rotated through different classes touching on different sections of the ACT.
“We had a science class, language arts class, a math class and a writing class,” Sprurill said. “Those just gave us extra knowledge and practice tests gave us advice on how to approach the ACT so that we could do the best we could.”
Wyatt had taken the ACT last summer. She scored a 33, but didn’t consider herself well prepared for it.
“I just kind of went online and studied some because it was summertime,” Wyatt said. “To be honest, I didn't really want to study a whole lot and I just wanted to see how far I could get without studying.”
Wyatt said she has always excelled in science and English.
“My heart is not always into math,” Wyatt said. “Math was my lowest score.”
Wyatt also took advantage of school resources, especially the available online programming. She said it aided in getting her math score up to give her a 36 this time around.
Sprurill and Wyatt are two of about 250 juniors at Wetumpka High School. The 36 score though is more rare when you look at the 1,374,7891 Class of 2024 students who took the test across the nation according to PrepScholar. The average composite score was 19.4 out of 36. It means a score of 20 is slightly above average. Scores of 34 and above put a student in the 99th percentile. Only 3,041 students or .22% got the perfect 36 ACT score. About three times as many students scored 35, the next best score.
Both students are enrolled in four or more AP classes for their junior year and are scheduling in a similar way for their senior year.
“I’m looking at getting the first two years of college out of the way here,” Sprurill said. “I don’t want to have that cost.”
They also balance other activities with their studies. In the past week Sprurill traveled to compete in the AHSAA State track meet. His speciality is the 100 hurdles but also runs the 300 hurdles and is on the roster for the 4x800 relay. He follows a priority plan that aids him in keeping up his studies and managing his time.
“Finish what's due the earliest, first and then like, do whatever you do for fun afterwards, like extracurriculars,” Sprurill said. “You have to focus on school but also need to prioritize family and friends spending some time for yourself. So, do your school work first and then, after you finish what you need to finish for tomorrow, you can relax a little.”
Wyatt is going through tech and dress rehearsals with the Wetumpka High School theater program as they get ready for Bright Star. Rehearsals started after school and have run to about 9 p.m. the last couple of weeks. She gets home and gets back into the books, often turning out the lights after midnight, only to start a new day again before 7 a.m. But she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It's a fun experience and it's worth all the work we put into it,” Wyatt said. “It is kind of hard trying to get homework done some days."
