How is the ACT Scoring Scale determined?

Test Preparation ACT Preparation
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<p>Hello, I have been taking some pre-tests out of the Red ACT Book for the past couple of weeks, and I couldn't help but notice that each rubric for each pre-test is graded on a different scale. Now, I know that may be obvious because each test is "different," but I found that the scales are inconsistent with the percentage of correct answers. </p>

<p>On one of my first pre-tests I got 8 answer choices wrong on the reading, and according to the rubric my score was 31. On my second pre-test I got 6 answer choices wrong, and according to the second pre-test rubric my score was a 28. This meant that on my first reading section I received a 31 for 78% accuracy, and on my second reading section I received a 28 for 85% accuracy; a 3 point decrease for better performance. Anyways, I just wanted to see if anyone knew how they determine these scoring scales; I have not been able to find any information on the actual ACT website. Any help/input would be appreciated! Thanks!</p>

2

<p>The scales are appropriated according to the difficulty of the questions. If a test is significantly harder than an average test, they’ll necessarily allow more room for error. The first reading section you scored a 31 on was, compared to the average, harder than the one you scored a 28 on (which probably was easier than average). They go by an average difficulty level and adjust the scale up or down based on the relation of the test to that level.</p>

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<p>Ok! Thank you for the detailed answer! Just found it strange that I did worse on the easier one haha.</p>