It is so hard to say. You can’t lose anything (except the $50). I know that I have read/heard that the 27 is th the 95%. But, it depends on how you feel.
I have to say I’m disappointed OP hasn’t returned to this thread, despite his/her lurking on this board – as recently as last week. Surely there’s been some word back. Not quite as OP hoped?
Whatever OP’s results, I don’t think the problem is unreal. Still . . .
I earned a 36 on the ACT composite for the december ACT.
23 in writing~~~ first thoughts: wat the duck. (btw 23 was with all 8s)
Asked for a rescore and…
just checked again, 2 months later–they changed my score to a 29 (11,10,10,11). 
I think there is a problem, and if you are disappointed with your writing score, GET IT RESCORED!
@theofrelord – congrats! Did you have to sign into your account to see your rescore, or, were you notified by snail mail?
@thinmints I have not been notified by mail yet, but when i signed into my account I saw the updated score.
I would also like to note that although prepscholar (a trustworthy blog) has reported this from the ACT, which would seem to indicate my subsections that averaged a 10.5 should produce an overall of 33, ACT says I have a 29 for this… very strange, but I suppose I should not complain too much.
does anybody know if there’s a risk that a rescore request for the ACT essay could lead to a lower score rather than unchanged or a higher score? Other posts in this and other threads have suggested it is a “no-lose” proposition to seek an essay rescore (other than losing the $50 if there’s no change) but the ACT website does not explicitly say that the score can only go up.
@theofrelord – thanks…will need to get D to check her account!
@maxtoby2 – I had an online chat on act site. The Rep told me that a downgrade would not show up on your score report so there would be no risk!
After weeks of collecting more information, I have decided to return to this thread and provide an update. The ACT IS AWARE OF THIS THREAD and has all but admitted its own guilt with the posting of its new PDF document titled “2015-2016 Terms and Conditions: Testing Rules and Policies for the ACT.” (http://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/Terms-and-Conditions.pdf)
Now for the disturbing part…
Minutes after I first started this thread, I was sent a private message by an ACT employee who is also a CC site monitor warned me not to repost the information anywhere within the College Confidential boards lest I be terminated for spamming.
My original post expressed, in detail, an interest in filing a class action lawsuit against ACT. Coincidentally, there is now an ARBITRATION addition to the organization’s official policies forbidding this very practice. This company has been active and operating since 1959 and this is the first year the corporate executives decide to implement restrictions that would block the repercussions they would certainly face should this case be heard in a court of law? Not a coincidence, folks.
“Unless expressly prohibited by an applicable law, all disputes… shall be resolved by a single arbitrator through binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association…No arbitration may be maintained as a class action, and the arbitrator shall not have the authority to combine or aggregate the disputes of more than one individual, conduct any class proceeding, make any class award, or make an award to any person or entity not a party to the arbitration. By agreeing to arbitration, you are waiving your right to have your dispute heard by a judge or jury.”
Read the complete policy below:
~*~
“Arbitration
Unless expressly prohibited by an applicable law, all disputes (other than those described above at “Individual Score Reviews” and those relating to infringement of ACT intellectual property) arising out of or relating in any way to registering for or taking the ACT, or requesting accommodations on the ACT test, or the use or disclosure of personal information by ACT, shall be resolved by a single arbitrator through binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”), under the AAA Consumer Rules (“AAA Rules”) in effect at the time a request for arbitration is filed with the AAA. Copies of the AAA Rules can be located at www.adr.org. No arbitration may be maintained as a class action, and the arbitrator shall not have the authority to combine or aggregate the disputes of more than one individual, conduct any class proceeding, make any class award, or make an award to any person or entity not a party to the arbitration. By agreeing to arbitration, you are waiving your right to have your dispute heard by a judge or jury.
Each party will be responsible for its own fees and expenses incurred in connection with any arbitration.
NOTE: Special procedures apply to arbitration proceedings involving Individual Score Reviews. Those procedures are discussed above, under the heading “Individual Score Reviews.” The procedures for Individual Score Reviews override the procedures in this section for Individual Score Reviews only, if they are different from the procedures described in this section.”
~*~
A response to your earlier enthusiasm about the organization’s rescoring policy…
The fact that ACT offers to rescore test booklets for a $50 fee indicates passivity to its own systematic failings. In offering this service, the company collects money while simultaneously appeasing anyone starting to question their practices. Is it a coincidence that an overwhelming number of people here have reported score increases of 8-10 points on average after requesting a rescore? Moreover, why ‘was’ the data pertaining to test retakes made widely available, and yet no information was provided whatsoever as to the average increase from a rescoring?
The ACT’s newly designed website flaunts the altruistic “research” (http://www.act.org/content/act/en/research.html) it is supposedly conducting for the purpose of targeting educational discrepancies and improving its products and services–because, yes, it is a for-profit corporation capitalizing on the government subsidies it receives under the label of a nonprofit. This in and of itself is evidence enough that the writing scorers are free-range employees operating without any kind of rigid and enforced common standards for grading.
Update on my situation and what my plans are going forward…
I am choosing not to provide any more information about my own writing score or the steps I am taking to pursue this matter with the ACT. The policy amendments detailed above confirm this corporate entity’s willingness to conceal its wrongdoing and any legal actions I take from here on out cannot be posted on a public forum that can be so easily accessed by the organization itself.
Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and expressed their support. For those who recognize this issue and want to help, the most important thing right now is to raise awareness and get as many people’s stories documented as possible. In order to begin an investigation, we need more people to come forward. Once a definitive pattern has been established, we can strengthen the foundation of this case.
Everyone who feels passionately about this, please share the points expressed in this thread with freelance writers whom you may know. Many national news outlets have covered the scoring discrepancies, but few have caught onto the important points here made by all of you. The more people aware of the ACT’s questionable practices, the better. This case can’t go forward with only a handful of people behind it. But millions of people take this exam each year, and millions of kids are paying the price with their futures because of this company’s unethical and illegal practices.
@niflheim000 Thank you so much for following up on this thread and good luck with your ACT. You obviously touched a very big nerve with ACT, as so many other people are complaining of the same bad scores. As you know, there was press on this and hopefully it will continue until they get their act together.
I too appreciate the follow-up.
I hope the biggest consequence is that universities simply take all these scores with a grain of salt.
I sent in for a re-score on my son’s essay from December (score of 24). My check was cashed on 3/10/16, but there is no change in his online score. Does that mean the regraded score was the same? For those of you who requested re-scores, do you know how long it took between your check being cashed and the new score appearing online? Thanks.
@CCMom16 I never had my daughter check on line. We noticed the check was cashed through our bank statement and about two weeks later we got the notification in the mail. There was no change in score…we are now less $50!
@CCMOM16 When did you mail in the rescore request?
I mailed it on February 16th.
@CCMom16 my check was cashed, then like 3 weeks later my score was changed online
so it seems like they cash the check when the start the rescore process.
In my daughter’s case they re-scored her writing (up 8 points), sent the letter stating that they will send her new results to all the places she originally ordered the results for and will reimburse the $50.00. They did not send the results and did not send the money to me. I have no energy to fight with them…
Mailed rescore request 2/29. Check cashed a week later. Results online today: went from an 18 to a 25. Thanks to above posters as I doubt I would have thought of rescoring without you.