Act jump has me worried

So I’ve been reading some ACT post and it has me worried. I will be applying to colleges this fall and have a serious question. Last year I took the ACT many times. My first score in the fall was alright with a 27. To be exact I took it in October. Then I thought well I’ll just study and take it in December. Well things did not go as planned and I got a 24. Then panicking I took the test after being very busy in February and got at 25. I was really disappointed. So for the next 2 months I spent lots of time studying for the ACT in April. I even took lots of time on spring break to study. Happily my work paid off and I got a 32. But recently with what I have been reading, scores with a big jump tend to be flagged. Do you guys think I will get flagged? If you look at my October to April jump is was 27–>32 which is only 5 pts, but the jump from February to April is 25–>32, which is a 7 pt increase. I sat in the front row on the April test, and studied very hard. My GPA is strong, but unfortunately I only can rely on my test books for support as I did not have a personal tutor. What do you guys think?

You’re gonna have to have an explanation for the low scores

FIrst, congratulations on your improvement! I have assisted a student in the past who was accused to ACT cheating. In that process, I spoke with other attorneys who had done the same. From this viewpoint, I can tell you that when the ACT flags a test, it primarily reviews the questions you got wrong to see if the answers you put were the same answers of someone near you who, likewise, had a high score – and had the same version of the test. There are a few different versions (same questions, different order) within each testing room. With these safeguards in place, it’s both hard to get away with cheating AND hard to be falsely accused of cheating. So, I would say that based on your description, you should not worry and just be proud of your score!

Don’t worry about it now. You can send only your 32 to the schools you are interested in. Congrats that’s quite an improvement and I’m glad to know studying pays off!

Thank you, so I should be alright or just not worry about it and see if it ends up happening. Why doesn’t ACT just flag right away?

Because everything I have read on here has said they tend to send a letter 4-6 months later. Why is that? How offen does this happen?

It can be well after the test because of the investigation involved. I large jump may trigger internal follow-up, but that follow-up takes time. ACT has only so many investigators. It’s best not to worry about something that is completely out of your control. You got a great improvement. If ACT does suspect cheating was involved (and the score change itself will usually not be enough for them to make that claim), then you’ll be given the option to have the score invalidated or to take another test to “confirm” your score. You may be given the option to take the test at a special administration at your school. I believe that you need to come within 3 points of your 32 in order to have it confirmed. As I said, I not worth worrying about now.