What do you mean by “ACT INTERNATIONAL”, @ktrrights ?
Are you saying due to international cheating , that American kids are being audited / accused also?
IMO…all these “Superscores” and “Retakes” are out of hand anyway. Students should only be allowed one retake, or maybe 3 sittings maximum. Taking too many times apparently raises a flag in their system. They should be more forthcoming about that, though.
Yes I have researched this A LOT. ACT has a big problem with international cheating. They use their internal statistical data to offset their numbers to reflect they are taking a3cure measures against cheating. The problem is tiger are using students at random with zero proof. Reuters have been investigating them for years. Unfortunately it’s going to take more awareness to get the ACT regulated.
In the US - Are they just flagging students that took the test 3+ times?
I do not know if they flag all. But from what I have found, all have taken 2+ times and all have taken 6 months to notify they are investigating for taking the scores away. They also seem to be going into graduation time when students are notified.
So if at graduation time, they have already used the score, correct?
That is correct, however if they cancel the scores they notify all schools that the scores were sent to. That is where we are at now.
@ktrrights - Do you think the schools are aware of this trend? Can you explain to the schools what you have uncovered?
I am certain they are not aware. I am in the process of bring awareness to as many as possible. As for our local school, my daughters high school was mortified. The high school where she took the two tests were also. They had never heard of this. Since I have started researching this problem I have found that this has been a growing problem for years. No one has fought them publicly or through Washington. It will take an army not just one or two parents.
You will never win against ACT unless kids take the retake, because otherwise, it’s all speculation that the process is unfair. I don’t get why affected students just don’t just retake the exam. If the student scores a 18, 20, 30, it should be flagged in my opinion as that progression is statistically improbable. So prove them wrong by retaking it. If the kid then gets even a 27 or 28, I suspect they will reinstate the 30. Merely showing that the student studied harder is not sufficient evidence to rebut a cheating allegation.
That is incorrect. If they get within 2 points they will reinstate or give the lower. Ex: If they cancel a 28 and the retake is a 30, the ACT will only reinstate the 28 and not give the 30. The problem is myself, nor none of the other parents trust the retest, the results or the test level of the retest. When I questioned the ACT’s attorney of this on a recorded call, he refused to answer the question.
You are missing my point entirely. If it is not the policy to reinstate the higher score, you’d have a strong argument at that point to reinstate the 30. Without retaking it, however, you have no case at all. No good lawyer would take your case. Righteous indignation, benefit of the doubt, speculation, and say-so doesn’t win lawsuits and arbitrations. But good luck.
Thanks for your input. Best of luck with what ever process you are going through.
@ktrrights are you still fighting your battle? I was thinking you had arbitration and it didn’t go well. I read this post and feel so mad at this entire situation.
The retest is generally a National Test Date, which is a released test. You can buy the test and see what you got right and wrong.
ACT is not going to give you a special test to prove your innocence.
Furthermore, ACT has your actual booklet from the test. For example, if you get the last 10 Math questions right and you don’t show any work, that looks highly suspect.
I agree with the poster above, C18, C20, C30 should get flagged.
If you didn’t cheat, you can easily get within 2pts of your previous score.
This is all crazy to me. Why aren’t proctors completing reports on their sessions to avoid even this possibility. My son showed absolutely zero work during his practice tests and I assume he did the same during the real thing. That’s just the type of kid he is. This was his first test but this is very alarming to me.
Yes, we lost. Still offering support to other parents and still want to fight this. I recently was given the steps to start a petition. Trying to get thru taxes so I can resume focusing on this.
You are incorrect mmk2015. ACT will give a private re-test in a one on one environment with the student and the proctor only in the room.I do not believe they will give a fair test, nor do they release the test results to you. They will give you the answer sheet filled out by your student but not the answers on the actual test.
What do you have to lose by having your student take the retest if your student didn’t cheat? I don’t get what standing on principle rather than retesting gets you. A petition won’t change anything.
Ktrrights, I really don’t mean to sound disrespectful. I’m just trying to understand the whole picture. Something seems to be missing from this story.
Your kid really has to test one on one with a proctor?
I can understand if the student has Special Accommodations that requires that one on one treatment.
But If it’s normal time, that really sounds unusual.
I’ve seen several kids get flagged, then go through the “prove your score treatment”. But they all were told to take the next normal administration of the ACT. And they were told that they had to score within 3 pts to keep either score: the one in question or the new one.
None of them had any trouble getting their highest score again.
Your situation really doesn’t sound normal. If it’s how you describe it, then it does sound unfair.
PS. It’s really, really hard to figure out the last 10 Math questions without even a single pencil mark on the booklet. If a kid can do that, he’s one heck of a math genius. And he would’ve easily gotten 30+ on at least 2 ACT administrations.
M21, M22, M32… doesn’t seem right.
M26, M30, M34… does.
I agree it sounds bizarre but that is exactly how the retests are handled. If you would like to email me I am happy to send you the documentation from ACT. Do you have a student going through this? I encourage you to Google Cheaters Proof. You will see this extensive problem that dates back many years. I had the privilege of finding the writer, who is now an attorney back east. We had a long conversation that was very insightful. Bottom line, ACT is a non-profit unregulated organization that needs to be stopped. They are very unethical.