<p>I took my first ACT without writing during the national one which was given by the school and got a 29.
That score is pretty good, nothing great though.
So I decided to take it again, getting a 26, which was just that drastically different and made sense seeing how tired I was that day, yet I still thought I did better.
Scored a 10 on writing.</p>
<p>Then, I studied a little and took the ACT in Sept thinking my familiarity with the test will result in a better score, this time, I got a 24. </p>
<p>Now, how is this possible?
How can my score keep decreasing and go from a 29 to a 24?</p>
<p>I am bewildered at my performance, anyway to request my tests and see exactly what I did wrong?</p>
<p>You can order your test and answer key. It costs alot of money but if you check on the actstudent website they’ll tell you how much and how</p>
<p>Well I cant really afford that.
Is there another way?</p>
<p>Anyway, I am still looking for an explanation, this is bothering me a lot.</p>
<p>What did you do the morning of the test each time?
Its recommended that you look over practice problems or do something along the lines to get your brain going and warmed up. I got a 31 on my practice ACT English section and then the day of the test I got a 24 because I woke up and went to the test without warming up. It wasn’t until the last section the science, that my brain decided to be ready and on that I got a 30</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the TIR (Test Information Release Service) is only offered for the December, April, and June ACT tests for the 2011-2012 School year, so it will be impossible to order a copy of the tests.</p>
<p>My mind is just boggled.</p>
<p>What kind of cognitive failure can result in such a drastic drop?
The likelihood of mistakes in grading are quite low, correct? </p>
<p>I just dont understand.</p>
<p>Like I said before, you might not have been warmed up like you were the first time</p>
<p>I see a number of factors at work, farzaad. 1) Your first performance may have been above your true level, while the last may have been below your true level. Accounting for the standard deviation in scores, this seems completely plausible, and would place your true levels somewhere around what you scored on your second exam. 2) Studying, and particularly implementing new strategies, can sometimes lead to score decreases, especially initially. Take, for example, Tiger Woods’ golf swing. A number of times he has changed his swing, with his golf game initially becoming worse before improving. When trying new to do things a new way, there will undoubtedly be inefficiency and awkwardness in the beginning.</p>
<p>I hope that helps. Let me know if you need any further help.</p>
<p>A big question here is what were the breakdowns on each of your scores. If you have one area in particular that is tanking, that could really drag your score down. Has science been low the last few times? That can often be an indicator of testing fatigue.</p>