A 32 is 99th Percentile now

Test Preparation ACT Preparation
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<p>ACT</a> Score Information: National Ranks for Test Scores and Composite Score</p>

<p>I found this surprising. When did this change?</p>

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<p>and does this mean a 32 is a good score?</p>

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<p>32 is approximately the 96.5th percentile.</p>

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<p>Where did you get this info. from^</p>

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<p>Woops. I was a little bit off. It’s actually the 97.2nd percentile, according to the latest ACT Profile Report: <a href=“http://www.act.org/news/data/09/pdf/National2009.pdf[/url]”>http://www.act.org/news/data/09/pdf/National2009.pdf&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You need to add up the actual numbers on page 12 and divide by the total number taking the test.</p>

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<p>The link in the top post is the most current ranking. It includes data from 2007, 2008, 2009 graduates, as well 2009/2010 score reports. The link to this page was also sent to me by a guidance counselor. A composite score of 32 is in the 99 percentile and a 30 is in the 96th percentile. Silverturtle, the link you posted is just for the 2009 testing year.</p>

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<p>No, for the reasons you stated (plus, it was likely rounded). If the student received the 32 in 2009 or 2010, it does not make sense to average in the outdated percentiles of previous years, when 32’s were less common.</p>

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<p>The link above is from the ACT website. It is their test, I think that it is reasonable to believe that their most current ranking information is correct. The table is titled “National Ranks for Test Scores and Composite Score”. If you are interested in results for one specific year, that is a different animal. The link above is the overall ranking of the ACT.</p>

<p>BTW, can you point me to where you found the information that 32s were less common in prior years? If that is the case, I guess we can look forward to a recentering of ACT scoring in the future.</p>

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<p>My rising senior took the ACT in Sept of 2009. He scored a composite 33 and on the report it shows this as ranked 99% in the US. The breakdown by subject shows the following scores/nat’l % English 32 (95%), math 32 (97%), reading 32 (95%) and science 35 (99%). (science must carry a lot of weight)</p>

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<p>When I received my score report in October from my first ACT (on which I received a 32), it stated that my composite was in the 99th percentile.</p>

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<p>Science is weighted no more heavily than any other section. It’s just an average of the score, not the percentile. However, a lot of people have the most difficulty with the science section, so by doing comparatively well on it (36?), he may have been able to carry his other scores to a 33.</p>

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<p>That’s the only explanation for the decrease in the percentile of a 32 composite.</p>

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<p>It is correct but outdated.</p>

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<p>The OP stated the a 32 composite was in the 99th percentile now. The link does not support such claims, because it is a compilation of data from previous years.</p>

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<p>^ Yes, I agree.</p>

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<p>It means what it has always meant: a 32 is better than a 31 or lower, and worse than a 33 or higher.</p>

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<p>It’s because the class of 2010 was the smartest ever. So when all 2010 graduates stop taking the ACT, the percentiles went down.</p>

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<p>In your scenario, such a change would result in the percentiles’ going up, not down (fewer people would be scoring high).</p>