ACT scoring – ACT says it identified a scoring issue affecting students who took the online ACT this spring during school-day testing. Affected composite and section scores will be removed and reissued, with ACT saying scores will not be lower and that most changes are mini
For students who logged into MyACT expecting their spring results to stay put, May 13 brought a different kind of countdown: ACT told districts that some previously issued scores would have to come out and be replaced.
In Ohio. Upper Arlington Schools and Olentangy Local School District confirmed they received an email from the testing organization alerting them to the issue. ACT said students who took the online ACT test this spring during school-day testing should have seen their current score removed from their MyACT accounts on May 13. Revised scores are expected to be available again no later than June 2.
Across the country. ACT warned that previously issued scores could change after it identified what it called “a scoring issue.” The testing organization said the composite and section scores will either stay the same or increase slightly based on each student’s individual performance. “Your scores will NOT be lower than what was previously released,” the ACT email to school district test coordinators stated.
The mechanics matter for families because the timing is the stress test. ACT said it will automatically resend the updated scores to high schools and any selected colleges or scholarship organizations. Students do not need to take any action.
ACT’s director of strategic communications, Juan Elizondo, described the discovery as something the organization found through its own before-and-after checks. He said ACT runs analyses before and after tests to ensure scores align with expected patterns.
“What we discovered in that process is that outcomes for students who took the online test during the school day this spring, their scores did not meet what we expected,” Elizondo said. “They weren’t in the ranges or the patterns that we would have anticipated.”
Elizondo emphasized that the problem wasn’t that one test was harder than another. It was, he said, a problem with the scoring process itself.
ACT is now rescoring affected exams to make results accurate and comparable across all students, regardless of how or when they tested. Still, families won’t know the precise impact on composite scores until rescoring is completed.
In the meantime, Elizondo later shared how specific section scores are estimated to change. Reading: 95% of scores will stay the same or increase by one point, while 5% will go up by two points. Science: 99% will stay the same or increase by one point, and 1% will go up by two points. Math: 97% will stay the same or increase by one point, and 3% will go up by two points. English: 98% will stay the same or increase by one point, and 2% will go up by two points.
ACT also said it updated the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce on the issue.
For many students, the stakes are heightened by how quickly scores can be used. Elizondo said the vast majority of affected students are juniors or younger. meaning they likely haven’t submitted college or scholarship applications yet. For the less than 5% of high school seniors this impacts. he said ACT is paying close attention to ensure they and the organizations they applied to have the information they need.
“We recognize the anxiety; we regret it,” Elizondo said. “We never want to be in this situation, but we are certainly grateful that we have these processes and the process worked.”
One practical detail is now set in stone for districts: students’ current scores were expected to be removed from their MyACT accounts starting May 13, and revised scores should be available no later than June 2—after which ACT will automatically resend the updates.
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