<p>I'm not getting any responses on the ACT forum, so I thought I'd try here.</p>
<p>My d. took the ACT for the first time as practice, and always planned on taking it again. Her scores were good, but she still wants to try it one more time, to see if she can do better. However her score on the writing portion was great, and she would love to stop there! It is a very long test when you add the optional writing section.</p>
<p>I know you can take the new writing portion with the traditional ACT, and you can take the traditional ACT without the writing portion, but you cannot take the writing portion alone. I also know you cannot mix and match the scores of separate sections of the traditional ACT to achieve a higher composite score. It was not clear to me, however, how the new writing score is treated. Can it be sent to schools who require it, separately? It does not appear so, on the ACT website, but this is confusing because the writing portion is treated as "optional". It is also treated separately for fees (You can cancel taking the writing test, even up to the test date, and receive a full refund for that portion only). Yet, while you receive a separate writing score, you also receive a combined one (linking the English score with the writing score). So they are not totally "separate". </p>
<p>Being able to choose exactly which ACT composite score to send to colleges is a nice advantage of the ACT. IF, at a second sitting, she takes the traditional ACT only (without writing), and scores better than the first sitting, can she still send the writing scores (only) from the first sitting, and the standard scores from the second sitting? OR will she be required to send both scores? (for double the fees of course). And, IF she must send both scores, will colleges only look at the first ACT results, since they typically do not mix and match ACT scores?</p>
<p>Yes, I can call each college (and will once we even have a list), but in the mean time we're curious if anyone has had experience with this. It would help to know is she can cancel the writing portion for round II.</p>
<p>I think it is better to be safe and take the writing portion of the ACT test again. We relied on the ACT test as my d did poorly on the SAT exam. As we applied to a # of SUNY and other eastcoast schools, we came to realize that alot of Eastcoast Admissions people were not that familiar with ACT scoring or other aspects of the exam. I remember one admissions person thought the average score was 36 on the ACT for their incoming class. So my point is that alot of admissions people still do not know how to handle ACT scoring. This of course may change over the next few years, but right now I think your d is better off taking the entire test again. I believe the writing portion of the ACT is at the end. This will allow your d to concentrate on the other sections. If her writing is better on this first test, she will be able to send in both test results. This will at least show the college her high writing score. If the college is specifically asking for the ACT writing portion, I think she should take the entire test.</p>
<p>I believe the ACT report to schools provides a percentile breakdown as well as a raw score for each subsection. There should be little confusion about how a student actually compares. My S only took the ACT and had little trouble with college acceptances.</p>
<p>not sure about sending the W separately. But, check the colleges your D is considering -- not all require the W, so the second test could work if its high enough. Also, several private colleges do mix and match subscores (I think WashU is one).</p>
<p>I also recommend a re-take with a re-take of the writing section. My D did not take the SAT, but did take the ACT twice. The SCEA school to which she was accepted takes the ACT with writing alone...no SAT IIs required if both parts of the ACT are submitted. ACT does have score choice, so your D can choose to send one set of scores over the other or send both if she wishes. I think it is very unlikely that she would score less well on the writing section on the second try. My D improved her writing from a 10 to a 12 (she finally read the instructions on what is required to get a 12, duh) and submitted her second set.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the only possibility, is that her second writing score would stay the same or go down (the score was 12). We were all thrilled! That's another reason why she prefers not taking it again.</p>