@Lanaana *December 30th is when I mailed the request.
I mailed it about a week later.
Just to add another data point here, my child took the October ACT and got 33 on composite and 17 on writing. My child thought it’s a mistake on the writing score and decided to go through the re-score process. The request letter was sent on 12/9/2015 and we got back the result 1/23/2016 and writing score was adjusted to 26.
@Lanaana I checked the ACT score site and my son’s essay score was updated. The good news is that we will be getting our $50 back. The bad news is that his score only went up by 1 point! From 22 to a 23. He is a Junior now so will not start the application process for another 9 months or so. We will have some time to decide what score(s) to submit. A 34 composite on ACT with 23 writing or a 2260 on SAT (with an 800 on writing portion) which will then require taking and submitting subject tests and scores. Ugh!
As an “aside” Some colleges have started to post online, the testing requirements for Freshman class entering in 2017. For example Tufts University will not require ACT with writing for class entering 2017 but they do require it now for class entering in 2016. UPenn did not require the writing section of the ACT with class entering in 2016 on nor will Cornell.
Anyway, your student will hopefully have better luck on the re-score than mine did. Good luck in the college process!
Does anyone know if there is any risk of your score going down if you ask for a rescore?
^ Look at post #87.
@tedandfranks the problem with the ACT is that if you take the ACT with writing, you can’t submit just the composite ACT without the writing portion of the test. ACT does not split the test. So yes, some schools will not require the writing, but if you submit your ACT composite, the writing is on that score report if you took the writing that day. My D got a 36 on her first sitting of her ACT and a 27 on writing. We have sent in to get a rescores on writing…BUT when sending in her ACT to her colleges, the writing score will show up on the report even if the colleges don’t require it…she took the ACT once and everything from that DEC 2015 test date appears…the ACT doesn’t split up. Oh well
@hcmom65, not having the ability to split out writing really makes it tough. Let us know whether you get a higher rescore. DD’s writing score is also much lower than composite. But she can’t take ACT without writing since it seems that many schools still require ACT with writing. Although, I am also noticing that some schools started to update their website making ACT writing optional.
I ordered hand-scoring on 1.22.16. They’ve received my request quickly but I’ve yet to see my new results.
Writing portion was recalculated from 13 to 21.
I just received a letter from ACT and I’m livid. Though I explicitly requested rescoring for my essay (confirming it with a customer service rep. as well), they ended up rescoring my multiple choice sections. Not only did I lose $50, my college admissisons chances just went down the drain…
@HealTheCookies If you only paid $50 - then they should have only rescored the writing OR the multiple choice. The fee for both is $100. Fight it.
How can a rescore of the multiple choice change your score. I would think the multiple choice is 99% accurate. TRUELY SCARY!
@HealTheCookies I just found this on prepscholar’s blog - not sure how up to date it is or not. But he says:
With SAT Hand Scoring there is also the risk that your score will go down if mistakes in scoring are found that aren’t in your favor. ** For the ACT, your score will either stay the same or go up - ordering hand scoring can’t hurt your score, it can only hurt your wallet.**
http://blog.prepscholar.com/act-hand-scoring-should-you-order-it
@suzyQ7 Thanks. Yeah, I’m not really quite sure why they decided to rescore my multiple-choice section when my Writing score is clearly the anomaly. I have no doubt in my mind that it is incorrect. A 35 to a 16 is simply absurd.
Did you get a chance to talk to them about it today? How much did your multiple choice score go down? According to a few sites, they don’t penalize you if they rescore - the only thing that can happen is your score staying the same or going up. Did they rescore the essay?
@suzyQ7
My multiple-choice score did not change, and they did not rescore my essay like I’d asked them to. Essentially they flipped a coin when deciding what to do with my $50.
I just returned from school and am planning to contact ACT and colleges.
OK - I think I understand now @HealTheCookies … you are saying that you requested a rescore of your ESSAY and instead they rescored your multiple choice test, and of course, there was no change in the multiple choice grade (thankfully). So they screwed up and rescored the wrong thing.
Hopefully you can prove to them that you asked for an essay rescore, and not multiple choice! Regardless, I wouldn’t worry about the essay score - the essay is not important to colleges and they are well aware of all the issues ACT has been having with scoring essays. That said, you should get your $50 rescore - hopefully they can fix it!
@hcmom65 A 27 is fine, and IMO, it’s not worth a rescore. It’s a high percentile - not as high as a 36, by any means, but essay scores fluctuate so much (and are so completely different from any actual college writing assignment) that colleges only glance at the writing score, and a 27 isn’t bad enough to draw attention. On the old 12 point scale, the mid-range scores at all the ivies were 8-10.
Well, there’s nothing to lose but $50, so nobody can say whether it’s worth it except the person holding the pocketbook. Since it can’t go down, it seems to me that it’s definitely worth it unless $50 is very dear.
@HealTheCookies It’s still a bit unclear to me - did the ACT rescore your essay and did not change your writing score, or they rescored the MC instead and did not change the corresponding scores?