@niflheim000 Did you see @flip10 's post - he got a rescore on the Dec ACT and the essay went up by 6 points. Did you get yours back yet?
Correction. My rescore was actually from the October test, but I didn’t send it off until about three weeks ago.
I HIGHLY recommend getting a rescore on the ACT writing like flip10 did (congrats btws!!!), at least this year while all the scores are weird (and therefore super flexible). They really seem to be random.
I took the October 2015 test and had a 36 composite and 19 writing, which confused me. Sent the essay in for a rescore, and just heard back - they changed it from a 19 to a 33. So relieved!
I just sent in a letter to ask for the rescore of my dd essay. She got a 36 composite on the Dec 15 test and a 27 on writing. She is an excellent writer…there is NO way. Hopefully it goes up above 30! I hope they can’t go down!!
How about filing a class action appeal to rescore all September through December ACT essays?
Something sure went awry in this department.
@hcmom65 I would not have had your daughter’s writing score of 27 re-scored. A 27 is the 95th percentile for the writing section. http://www.act.org/aap/pdf/NormsChartSTEMELAWriting-Web2015-16.pdf. Scoring 30+ is very difficult for this section. My score was 11/11/11/11 and that was a 31. 10/10/10/10 (really good) was only in the high twenties probably.
Curious: Does anyone have any ideas why the scores are so random (and harsh)? Theoretically, the more detailed scoring rubric should yield more accurate scores, but something is clearly going wrong in practice.
People who are getting re-scores back - are the notices of the new score being sent via snailmail?
I have yet to receive anything directly from ACT. I found out about the new score by logging into my ACT account and checking my scores again. Also, you have nothing to lose (other than $50.) by having your essay rescored. If your rescore comes back lower or the same as your original score, ACT will not send it to the colleges that received your original score. They only send the new score if it is higher. You also get your $50. back if your rescore goes up even by only one point.
@golfcashoahu She has nothing to lose. She is a junior and took the ACT once and is done. She has not sent anything out to any colleges. A 27 does NOT correspond with her 36 composite and the fact that she has always been an excellent writer. If it doesn’t change, well, then it doesn’t. I agree with @flip10 . nothing to lose!
These seem to have been systemic/large-scale problems with the ACT scoring in October and December in particular. It could be poorly trained graders, it could be a badly-calibrated roboreader, could be a combination of both, could be poorly calibrated rubrics, but the problem is very large.
Juniors, who are stuck between the ACT and the new SAT, have the most to complain and worry about.
Except 50 more dollars. She’s a junior - so it may be worth the risk.
However, I have a feeling the essay will go by the wayside soon. Now that SAT does not require it, colleges will stop requiring it too. Many top schools already have for the class of 2017:
Cornell:
http://admissions.cornell.edu/apply/new-sat-and-changes-admissions-policy#a
Columbia:
https://undergrad.admissions.columbia.edu/apply/first-year/testing
Brown:
https://www.brown.edu/admission/undergraduate/apply/first-year-applicants
Have sent in for re-score, glad to hear of @flip10’s good result!
So ACT is selling higher essay scores for $50? Wow.
@mathyone if ACT re-score is higher you get your $50 back. They don’t keep the $. No they r not selling higher scores for $.
OK and if your rescore is lower you get to keep your higher score. What possible justification is there for that? Either the new scoring is being done more accurately or it’s not. The ACT is saying it’s only an accurate score if it’s higher?
^Exactly!
Act won’t go on the record and admit there were major , systemic errors ,-they’ll rescore and hope the problem will go away
Paid to receive a full copy and also paid to rescore. I sent my checks over 2 weeks ago. So far they didn’t even cash my checks. If you received the new results, how long did it take?
@Lanaana I called ACT help line yesterday. I mailed the request to re-score on December 20th. They told me that our request was received on January 12th and sent to be re-scored on the 13th. Almost 2 weeks after I mailed it! She had no idea how long it would take but my guess is that it will be 3-5 weeks from January 12th. She advised that we check the ACT website to see if the score is updated.
@tedanfranks Thank you so much! I guess it will be another 8-10 weeks for us! It doesn’t make any difference for my daughter, but I have another kid who will be taking ACT/SAT at the end of this school year and beginning of the next. Trying to figure out which is a safer option for her…