ACT scoring – ACT says a scoring problem with this spring’s online, school-day testing requires it to remove or reissue scores for some students. Updated results will be resent to schools and colleges by June 2, with most affected scores expected to stay the same or rise sl
A spring test meant to open doors is now forcing students and families to sit in uncertainty. ACT says it found a “scoring issue” with the online version of this spring’s ACT taken during school-day testing, and that it will remove or reissue scores for students affected by the problem.
The message landed in districts through an email sent May 13 to school district test coordinators. In that note, ACT said student composite scores will either remain the same or go up slightly. ACT estimates the majority of students affected are juniors or younger. and it estimates that less than 5% of high school seniors were impacted.
“We recognize the anxiety; we regret it,” Juan Elizondo, director of strategic communications for ACT, said. “We never want to be in this situation, but we are certainly grateful that we have these processes and the process worked.”
The issue traces to a problem in the scoring process itself. Elizondo said the problem was not that one test was harder than the other.
ACT described how individual section scores may change for students whose results need to be removed or reissued. For Reading, 95% of scores will stay the same or increase by one point, and 5% will go up by two points. For Science, 99% will stay the same or increase by one point, and 1% will go up by two points.
Math is expected to be similar: 97% of scores will stay the same or increase by one point, while 3% will go up by two points. English is projected to shift least often: 98% of scores will stay the same or increase by one point, and 2% will go up by two points.
Students affected by the issue do not need to take action. ACT said it will resend scores to high schools and any colleges, universities or scholarship organizations students selected. The scores will also be updated on students’ MyACT profiles.
Updated scores will be available no later than June 2, ACT told test coordinators.
In the meantime, districts and families are left with a familiar but painful reality of admissions testing: waiting for a number that can influence decisions—then learning that the first version may not be the final one.
ACT ACT scoring issue standardized testing high school juniors high school seniors online ACT MyACT profiles admissions scores school-day testing