Three Hinsdale South High School students scored a perfect 36 on the ACT, placing them among roughly 3,000 test-takers nationwide who hit the ceiling on the college admissions exam each year.

Sophia Chen, Rohan Joshi and Vassanth Ranganathan each earned the top composite score, principal Dr. Kari Peronto announced in the school's Aug. 20 newsletter. Fewer than one-quarter of 1% of the more than 1.3 million students who sit for the ACT in a given cycle reach 36.

Three perfect scores from one school is rare.

Hinsdale South enrolls about 1,370 students in grades 9–12 as part of District 86. The announcement came the same week U.S. News & World Report released its 2026-27 Best High Schools rankings, placing Hinsdale South at No. 66 out of 724 Illinois public high schools. That puts the school in the top 10% statewide. The rankings, released Aug. 18, used 2023-24 school year data and were produced with research firm RTI International.

District 86's other campus fared even better in the same list. As we reported last week, Hinsdale Central jumped 71 spots to No. 9 in Illinois and No. 231 nationally.

U.S. News weighs six factors: college readiness (30%), state assessment proficiency (20%), state assessment performance (20%), underserved student performance (10%), graduation rate (10%) and college curriculum breadth (10%). Hinsdale South's national rank was not specified in the newsletter, and the U.S. News page for the school's individual profile was unavailable as of Aug. 24.

The newsletter also recognized two students, Ahmed Farooqui and Shivani Joshi, who completed internships with the City of Darien. They will be honored at the next District 86 Board of Education meeting, though no date has been posted.

Hinsdale education week ahead

Thursday, Aug. 27 — Curriculum Night, Hinsdale South High School, 7–9 p.m. Parents follow their student's schedule and meet teachers. At 6:30 p.m. in the Black and Gold room, assistant principal Vonnahme will discuss Title I federal funding (ESSA Grant) for low-income student support. No public comment period listed.