Dive Brief:

• Utah is seeing a jump in "perfect" ACT scores, with 15 students earning a score of 36 this school year and 17 the year before.
• This increase is surprising, considering there was only one student in the entire state that earned a perfect score in 2009. 
• While ACT is congratulating Utah on this feat, some warn that if these perfect scores become the norm, the significance of the exam will be diminished. 

Dive Insight:

University of Utah admissions director Matthew Lopez told the Associated Press that schools would change the way they use the ACT before the nation sees "a world of 36."

While Utah is pleased with the rise in perfect scores, ACT also adds that a state's average score is a far better indicator of its progress and reality than perfect scores, which are ultimately outliers. Utah's average currently stands at 20.8. It's also important to note that a chunk of the 36 scores didn't occur during the first test sitting, but after at least one retake.