Rounding.
It can be one of the most relieving or frustrating aspects of ACT scoring. Unlike the SAT, which adds the scores of all sections, the ACT averages each section’s score and then rounds to the nearest whole number. For Student A, this is a great realization, for it makes his 34.5 a 35. For Student B, it penalizes her 35.25 through rounding it down to a 35. Whereas Student A barely managed to break a 34, Student B was one question away from a 36.
Is viewing their scores identically justifiable, or should Student B have a clear advantage over Student A?
I certainly think that Student B outperformed Student A, but their scores are identical. So to resolve this problem, if ACT began adding scores instead of averaging them, Student B would have a 141, and Student A would have a 138, which more accurately reflects their performances.
So do you think ACT should switch to a 144 scale?
I bring this up because this actually happened to two of my best friends.
So kind of like how the SAT works? That’s actually pretty clever. Maybe you should contact ACT about your idea — I don’t know if they’ll implement it though.
This is from someone with a 35.25 as well (due to a science passage on quark flavors and properties on the April testing).
However, one of the downsides of this change would be that getting a perfect 144 would be a lot harder, since you’d have to get a 36 on every section. Personally, I’d use a scale of 141… everything up to 140 (or 35) would remain the same, but anything above 140, regardless of whether the subscore adds to 141, 142, 143, or 144, would result in a perfect score of 141. That’s just my input though. 
@azwu331 Yeah, like the SAT’s system. The math portion is already cushioned one question, but if English, Reading, and Science were all cushioned a question or two as well, then problem resolved, 144 scale.
My friend who got a 35.25 was also killed by that passage. She got a 34 Science because of it, and she got a 35 the first time. So close to a single-sitting 36.
@Hermit9 That’s exactly what happened to me. I usually get 35s on the science section (so my superscore is a 36), but on the April one I got a 34 and ended up with a 35.25.
Funny thing is that my Physics teacher introduced us to quarks a few weeks after the test… 
However, colleges still see the scores on each section so going to the 144 scale doesn’t seem like it has many pros besides bragging rights.
@azwu331 What a coincidence!
The problem is, with the current system, ~75% of people are unaffected or benefit from the averaging method. Despite indignance from the 25% of _.25ers, an overwhelming majority will support the current system since it helps them or does not affect them.
@2016senior Many colleges only view the ACT Composite.
“Many colleges only view the ACT Composite.”
Do you have any evidence to back this up? I actually think it’s blatantly wrong.
@Hermit9
@jackrabbit14 Yeah, I think you’re right. When I made that post I had misinterpreted some graphs from a scholarship website I am on.
I’d go back and edit but I can’t.