<p>I am a junior in a private HS in Illinois. I took the April ACT test. In Illinois all public High Schools take the ACT test to comply with No Child left Behind. It is a couple weeks after the Regular April test date and it is offered during the school day, in your own school. Everyone says its an "easier" test and people i know who take it several times get their highest scores on the in school tests, which can still be used for College. It doesn't seem fair that when i take the test the group i am competing with is college-bound students, but the the public school kids get to have their percentile scores set with reference to a large group of students (Chicago Public Schools) who are not college bound and would never take an ACT test at a normal administration. Wouldn't it be much easier to score in the xth percentile testing against such a group? it seems unfair i can't take THAT test!</p>
<p>My D took the ACT a few times. Her score on the test administered as part of the Prairie State test in Illinois was not her high score - she didn’t even have her high score on any of the subsections on that test. I don’t buy that the test is easier, and the scores of my D and a number of her friends on that test relative to others don’t support your belief that it is.</p>
<p>The question may be easier, but the curves would compensate for that. So easier questions do not give you higher score at the end. For example, in a difficult test you may miss 1-2 questions and still get 36 in a section. In an easy test, you will have to get all questions correct for the same score. In MI, KY and several other states, the mandated ACT is in March. The test this year was actually a bit more difficult than usual, but the curve is more generous to make up the difference.</p>
<p>The ACT does not provide an “easier” test for that date. It provides one of the tests it has in its inventory that can be used on any date. It is not the same one every year and it can be any of the tests ACT has in its inventory. It is “easier” only in the sense that currently the students do not take the essay portion and that is because the state board cut funding for the essay portion.</p>
<p>Also, the score you get is not affected by the fact that there are students taking the test who have no intent of going to college. For each test ACT has in its inventory, the section scores you will get on the 1-36 scale are predetermined based on the number of correct answers you will give. To determine your score, ACT actually compares you to those who took ACT tests in past years (and not just in Illinois) and not those who are taking the test with you.</p>
<p>But doesn’t the test correlate to percentiles, i.e. a 34 composite is 99th percentile. If the normal administration of the April test is college bound juniors, but the Illinois public school administration is all public school juniors, doesn’t the scaling of the scores also adjust --at least to some extent --for that, and isn’t it easier to be in the top 1% of all Illinois public school students than all college bound students. How many IL residents did get their best scores taking it during the week in their own familiar classrooms? I know this will just be anecdotal, but I’d like to know…</p>
<p>OldTiger - read the post just before yours. It is not a percentile based on those who take the test on the same date. It is based on the general pool of all people who take the ACT at all sittings. Yes, it would be easier to be in the top 1% of all public school students, but that is not what is reported.</p>
<p>Yes, some students will get their best score taking the test mid-week during school, others won’t. That may be more a function of familiarity with the test setting, and possibly lower anxiety. For others, the fact that they don’t take the essay may relieve some anxiety, allowing them to better on all the other sections.</p>
<p>There are many situations where students take a different test than everybody else - those who for religious reasons take in on a Sunday, and get a different form than Saturday, for instance. International students take a different form the those in the US, to prevent sharing of information, because no matter how much they ask students not to talk about a given test, they do. Imagine if your school had the same test form as given earlier in April - students would quickly figure out to pay for the April test, cancel their scores, and study up for the test as school… not only giving them a shot at a higher score, but invalidating the date for the state.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about the public school students. Their scores are comparable to yours, and the rest of the nation. They just had a different form of the test. And if they need the essay for college admissions, they will have to take in again, and if the college doesn’t super score the ACT, their in-school test won’t mean anything, because there is no essay score.</p>