my son scored a 33 composite with a 35 in English- just got his writing score and it was a 22. His last writing score from Oct test was 28. What gives? While i guess I can’t completely overlook the fact that maybe this essay wasn’t good, it just seems like something is off, as he is typically a pretty good writer and felt he wrote an excellent essay. I am going to be requesting act to re-score his writing. Has anyone here successfully challenged a writing score and had it changed?
@niflheim000 Hey, I just wanted to affirm your post by saying I’m in the exact same situation. I received a 35 on the Oct. 2015 Writing section but somehow scored a 16 this time on the Dec. 2015 administration (with all 06’s as subscores). There was no quality lapse between the two essays, so naturally I find this new result absurd.
Many colleges are changing their writing requirements for the class of 2017 to make the writing portion optional. This is because the new SAT does not include writing in the total composite scoring, and the SAT is changing to the ACT model - with writing being an add on. Colleges no longer need the ACT writing to do a straight comparison between SAT and ACT scores now that the writing is spiked out in the new SAT. I predict there will be VERY FEW colleges in future years requiring the writing portion, especially if they lose faith in the ability of these services to score accurately.
My Prediction: The scored writing as a part of the composite is dead… so writing is likely to die too. Perhaps they will request students give a writing sample at during the test (to validate abilities vs the highly edited essays within the app) but will likely ignore the scoring (IMHO). This is not helpful to the class of 2016, though.
Maybe a lot of you didn’t study the new writing format? I was initially going to go into the new writing test blind because the writing score doesn’t really matter much but then I decided to read up on the new writing test the day before the test and I found out it was totally different. I wrote my essay totally different from what I would have on the old test and I was glad I read up on it the day before.
@golfcashoahu I agree that is an awful large change in curve. I can definitely seeing a curve being more generous on a topic that is generally “harder” (i.e.: something on globalization/foreign policy) and a bit harsher on an “easier” issue a lot of students would be familiar with (i.e.: rule changes for safety in sports). From my friends who took writing in December, the topic leaned towards the “easier/more familiar” side. I think it’s definitely possible the curve was a bit harsher than October (having taken writing and knowing the topic myself), but nothing like some are saying.
Like @bodangles mentioned, seriously, take a deep breath and step back. If you’re this against working from home, I’m not sure how you’ll react to the news that many, many admissions officers (even at schools like MIT or UVA) read from home and make preliminary notes/recommendations for students from home.
While I think you have a right to see your essay and the rubric against which it was scored, your desire for wanting to figure out what is “systemically” happening by cobbling together what is the equivalent of internet water-coolers and your insistence that you are “clients” makes you come off as unreasonable. Be upset, but be reasonable.
Let's storm their headquarters.
Moderator’s note: inappropriate content deleted.
Reading this as a class of '17er makes me very uneasy. Especially when I have a good 7 days left to decide whether I want to register for the February ACT or not…I thought I would just take the ACT and not worry about the ambiguity of the redesigned SAT but it seems like that’s not a better choice with this ACT writing scandal. Will university adcoms just disregard standardized testing for the next few years until both companies can get it together or what??
I think @Archlion asked a relevant question - how many of those of you that scored poorly actually studied and practiced the new format essays using the new writing prompt? The scorers are looking for very specific things that perhaps some of you - good writers though you may be - may have overlooked (e.g., they want students to comment on 3 different points of view about a topic and either formulate their own opinion about that topic or defend one of the 3 that are given; they also want to see examples). Perhaps that’s where some of you are losing some points? (For the record, my dd scored a 36 on English, 35 on Reading, and managed to get a 34 on Writing). In her self-study program, she had looked carefully and written practice essays for two prompts that were published by the ACT (there are a few others from some test prep companies on the web), and felt that she had a good idea what the scorers were looking for.
I’m not saying that there aren’t less-than-competent scorers out there, but the fault may also lie in the writers not given the them what the scorers are looking for; it’s not just about writing well…it’s about writing well in the manner in which they want you to write.
@TheLandOfArielle You could always take the ACT without writing, so at least you have a solid composite score, then take writing later on (e.g. June or next fall) if you need it for the colleges you are interested in. Colleges might even change their requirements for our year based on all the testing changes. Also, you usually wait in a much shorter line on test day if you take it without writing 
And just an FYI, no lawyers will be crawling over one another to take these cases, and the compensatory damages are likely to be limited to a return of your fees…
My junior daughter took the test in December and did quite well on composite (35); her writing score was lower than we expected (26), but still 93%. She’s not taking it again, nor is she taking the SAT, which is sure to be a mess this year; one and done.
Our experience with our son 3 years ago was that most schools don’t care about the writing score for admissions because it is so subjective. And, if you think about it, what really matters is your score on the AP English test. ACT writing doesn’t matter if you get a 4 or 5 on the AP English and get yourself out of a class or two – AP scores trump ACT or SAT. I have the same opinion of the SAT II math test; why in the world would a college care about an SAT II math score if you get a 4 on the AP Calc test in your junior year? It’s a testing racket, and we refuse to play the game any more than absolutely necessary. Don’t let them yank your chain. Most schools, even Ivies, don’t require but only recommend SAT II’s, and I’d be willing to bet that if you have good AP scores in your junior year, that tells them more about your abilities than your scores on SAT II’s. DS applied for the Honors program at UDel, where 2 SAT II’s are “recommended” … but that was the only program he was applying to that wanted them, so he just didn’t take them. UDel was not his first choice, so he figured it wasn’t worth the extra time/effort/cost to prepare and take them. Guess what – he got in anyway, with significant scholarship $, on the strength of his HS courseload, AP scores his junior year, and his regular SAT (CR + Math) scores.
I honestly don’t know how they are grading the new essay. I took the September test (the first time with the new format), and I scored a 33 composite, but only got a 28 in writing. I also got a 34 in English for that test.
I scored a 33 E/W (10 on essay) on the April test, and a 34 E/W (11 on essay) on the June test. I scored an 11 on the SAT essay (the one and only time I took it). I also got A’s in all my English classes so far, and received a 5 on the APUSH exam (where we write lots of essays). It’s pretty obvious that the grading system is completely broken.
For the September test, I had to wait unbelievably long for my full score report to be ready, so long, that the people who took the October SAT got their scores back before I did. ACT is just as bad as Collegeboard (probably worse, because they make people wait centuries for their scores.)
Also because it bears zero resemblance to any college-level writing a student will be required to do.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/act-preparation/1832463-act-writing-guide.html#latest
This is the guide I wrote for the ACT writing section. I know it’s long, but I’d give it a look. Did those who scored in the low-to-mid 20s follow this type of format?
I used your thread as a guide and practiced writing the essays which were then critiqued. I increased the length of my essay for the Dec test and was organized according to your format and incorporated much of what was on the grading rubric. I even found some official new format essay prompts. I ended up with the SAME score as the previous test. What a waste.
That’s weird @luthierman. Clearly, something is wrong with the ACT grading. My school, for the most part, is reporting decent writing scores (28-33).
@niflheim000 You are thoughtful and articulate and doing a great job of raising this issue. Stick with it!
Seems we are in a similar boat, my daughter got a 30 composite but only a 15 on the ACT writing. She is an AP English Comp student at a competitive high school and has been doing test prep at a testing center with the new materials and her practice scores are all much higher. She just sent an inquiry and will be asking guidance for help on Monday. Will share any tips we uncover!
My daughter got a similar result. 32 Reading, 30 English and only 13 in Writing. Planning to call on Monday. Paid additional for the full copy of the test. Please keep us posted about any progress!
@Lanaana Also paid for the full copy of the test, will let you know what we find out.