ACT 13-Pt Score Drop

I took the April 2016 ACT, and I scored a 32 Composite with a 35 science. Then, I took the September 2016 ACT, and I scored a 30 composite with a 22 science. I do admit I did not try as hard on this science as I did on other sections, but I wasn’t expecting that low. The same goes for the April one, actually - I did not expect that high. The superscore of both these tests is a 34, so I need both tests. However, will colleges look negatively on my 13 point drop? Or should I not be too worried because my superscore is where I want it to be? Should I retake to show that my science isn’t that bad? My first ACT science (Dec. 2015) was a 25.

Well, they see everything so I suppose they consider everything if the environment is competitive. You are someone who greatly benefits from superscoring so you might use that to your advantage. I am not sure if colleges care about the balance of scores throughout a series of tests or even in a single best test. For example, you might get a 32 with a mix of 36 and 28 on the subscores. Is that better or worse than someone who got a 32 on each section? I don’t know.

I would say that if you had a 25, 30, 32 then 34 is probably an overestimate of you ACT so the superscore is to your advantage.