<p>First, this part won't help DadII "figure it all out" but the discussion about ACT reporting 100 percentile is yet one additional reason why I always considered the ACTorganization one that tends to take shortcuts with both its customers and with intellectual integrity. </p>
<p>While it is within their "rights" to round up percentiles, reporting a percentile score of 100 is questionable. The reason why the College Board and ETS report a 99 percentile as the highest score is because the absolute top ranker does NOT have 100 per cent of the students below him. If there are N students in the reporting pool, the maximum number of students who can be below the top ranker is N-1. Hence, the percentile score is ALWAYS less than 100. </p>
<p>As far as DadII, I think that he could --and should-- go back in time and read many of the discussions that related to his first child and her outcome. From the very beginning, a few of us recommended him to set aside the views that test scores had clear consequences, both positive and negative. A 36 or 2400 --or should it be the magical 4800?-- does not guarantee anything, and neither do the bordeline ridiculous tally of 11 APs.</p>
<p>Perhaps, DadII should look back at the past history with objectivity and weigh the impact of DadIID "wasting" her time being a good citizen at school and participating in events that did not carry the immediate and INDIVIDUAL recognition that is so valued in some ethnic circles. </p>
<p>DadII, if you do read this, please stop worrying about "figuring this out" ... NONE of us can do that. All one can do is doing its very best and HOPE for the best. If your past is any indication, DadIISon will fare every bit as well as his older sister. However, one thing he does NOT have to do is match her achievements, let alone surpass her. I am pretty sure that with his intelligence and background, he has learned to cope with fraternal pressure. Please, please, let him of the hook and allow him to be himself by not adding to the pressure all young persons looking at the college application process already feel. </p>
<p>(CC Community: Just out of curiosity, if you were an adcom, how would you react to an application where the applicant had taken the SAT I seven times, receiving a 2390 each and every time?)</p>
<p>If I were an adcom and a student took the SAT more than three times NO matter the score, I would see it as test obsessed. If a student retook the SAT after even getting 2370 ONE time (and that is not even 2390 as your question posed), I would frown upon it as test obsessed and a strive to perfection. </p>
<p>Anyone who knows elite college admissions knows that once you are over a certain threshold on the SAT (or ACT) and in fact, that threshold is even lower than your example, there is NO need to retake it. </p>
<p>The difference between an applicant with a perfect SAT and one who has, let's say, 2320 is not significant academically speaking and the college may easily reject the 2400 kid and take the 2320 kid because the 2320 student ALSO has many other attractive qualities that maybe the 2400 student in question does not possess. The higher score doesn't necessarily "win" once you are over a certain threshold.</p>
<p>(CC Community: Just out of curiosity, if you were an adcom, how would you react to an application where the applicant had taken the SAT I seven times, receiving a 2390 each and every time?) </p>
<p>I would tlhink there was something wrong with the kid and something wrong with the kid's parents and something wrong with the kid's school. I know my boys, if they received a 2390, would be so done with the test taking and if I had asked them to take it again would have flat out but politely told me to "stick it where the sun don't shine."</p>
<p>First, as xig pointed out, it's not a sound statistical practice to have a One hundredth percentile, and I'm surprised the ACT uses this. I'm very familiar with the SAT scales, but this was the time I looked at the ACT's, and I didn't expect to see that.</p>
<p>Second, I thought I'd share this link to a front page article in today's Washington Post about the increasing popularity and acceptability of the ACT. The article has figures from the local DC area, but I sense this trend applies to other non-Midwest areas also. Of course, if National merit or other recognition/scholarship opportunities are still defined by the SAT, it might be worth taking.</p>
<p>Finally, just to share my own experience--D did so well on her first SAT that we agreed it wasn't worth retaking just to raise one subsection. This freed her to concentrate on other senior year efforts, and neither of us ever regretted it.</p>
<p>blossom- I agree. I think this is another attempt by DadII to be reassured that his kids aren't total idiots and might actually get into a college that comes with bragging rights.</p>
<p>Congrats to your SON on his great score- especially as a fall junior.</p>
<p>well, believe it or not, we know a young man who got a 36 on the ACT, yet wanted to take it again. Evidently you can get a 36 with one or two answers wrong, and he wanted to get them all right. I don't know what he got on the retake. </p>
<p>But his parents had nothing to say about it; in fact, I think they discouraged him from taking it again, and told him if he wanted to, he would have to pay for it.</p>
<p>DII, Now you can calm down about DS. If he has one area in which he did way worse than in the others, you can get him a few hours (by which I mean a few hours!) of tutoring and see if it makes a difference on practice tests. If he takes ACT again and does better, great! If not, even the lowest 99% ACT score is good enough for anyplace. Let me repeat: anyplace. So he can throw the second score out the window and he'll still be in great shape. </p>
<p>Your D followed her own path and look where she ended up! Rest assured that your DS will also have a fine outcome, especially with this great ACT score and the GPA you've reported here.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info about 100%, Xiggi. I'm appalled. I just figured that no test would have a 100th percentile, for the reason you state. Who knew?</p>
<p>Now my feeble non-99th percentile brain is confused. I get the logic of not having a 100 percentile. But then does the "99+" percentile of the SAT differ from the "99" percentile? If so, aren't they misleading you when they say you are in the 99th, 98th, etc percentiles? At the bottom end, is there a 1 percentile and a 0 percentile? </p>
<p>Are we looking at 'percentile inflation' in the nomenclature?</p>
<p>I did some Googling about "100th percentile," and contrary to my friends who posted above, it's all a matter of establishing how you count and NOT AT ALL an error to call one of the 100 percentile bands the "100th" band. One does have be consistent in whether the count at the other end starts at 0 or at 1, but that is all one needs to think about. </p>
<p>Students whose scores are shown as "100th percentile" on an ACT test (and, correspondingly, students whose scores are shown as "99+th percentile" on a College Board test) are so high up in the array of scores that, to the nearest percent, they DO outrank all the other test-takers. Of course if they take the test again on another occasion, they may not obtain such a high standard score (and not such a high percentile rank) again because ANY mental test published by any company has error of estimation.</p>
<p>A very good question. I provided the links to the official percentile charts from each testing organization in post</a> #19 above in this thread so that we could all look it up and see how each organization counts. The ACT shows that they start counting at 1 and go up to 100, which is perfectly acceptable--I found lots of professors teaching statistics classes with online lesson handouts who said that is okay. College Board counts from -1 (that should probably be read as "less than one" rather than as "negative one") to 1, and then through the other numbers to 99, followed by 99+. That counts out 101 different percentile spaces, which seems less defensible to me than what ACT does in this regard.</p>
<p>Thanks tokenadult. I looked up the link you provided to the collegeboard percentiles. It is indeed funny that they have 101 percentile spaces. Odd that they don't have a 0 percentile but they do have a -1 percentile. I guess "0" is politically incorrect? </p>
<p>And below the -1 percentile, there were 102 students who were given a percentile of "-". Personally I would have chosen a percentile of "!"</p>
<p>"Don’t get me wrong, DS is a decent student who is handling 5 AP plus Math and FL, and sports, and other E/C very well. He is on the path to complete at least 11 AP at graduation and an unweight GPA around 3.9. "</p>
<p>Sigh. A student in the 99th percentile with the ACT, who has <em>5</em> AP classes at one time (do you not GET how incredibly difficult that is?) and is on the path to complete 11 AP's by graduation ... who has an unweighted 3.9 ... is not "a decent student." He is an OUTSTANDING student. Go take him out for popcorn and a movie instead of getting on him about studying more and improving test scores.</p>
<p>"If this happened in my household, I'd congratulate him and end it there. Since when is 99% not good enough? Why give him the impression that being perfect is the only goal and being anything less than perfect isn't good enough?"</p>
<p>Dad II, I SERIOUSLY hope you are not putting the HYPS pressure on him, and that he is going to direct much of the college search process. He's clearly bright enough to make excellent choices. Even if they wind up being choices that don't impress the folks in the old country.</p>
<p>come on, folks. Just two simple questions. May be because of my record here and I deserve these. </p>
<p>DS is a smart student who, until this time, has not shown any strength in taking standard tests. In the summer, he took one of those test at a "learning center" and got 29. For this Oct ACT, we were just to trying to get a baseline. For him to get a decent score like this, it is either the good luck, an easy test, and/or DS is really developing the test skills.</p>
<p>In any case, all the 4 sub scores are identical, as in exactly the same. He said that he did not bring a watch on that test day so he rushed throught the whole test. Since most of the schools of interests require the "writing" part which he did not do this time. He will have to take the test again. </p>
<p>The HS GC is really nice. Upon learning of the score, the GC immediately made the plan - setting up a one on one to map out the steps. </p>
<p>Believe me, I am a changed man after the process with our DD. I understand the role of test scores. </p>
<p>This time around, it is not about name school for bragging. It is 100% focused on money. These educations are real expensive.</p>
<p>PS, xiggi, I have 100% of the confidence that everything will work out comes May 1st, 2010. I am so sure that I have yet to buy a bottle of crown royal this time.</p>
<p>
[quote]
PS, xiggi, I have 100% of the confidence that everything will work out comes May 1st, 2010. I am so sure that I have yet to buy a bottle of crown royal this time.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>What if you bought one and we will share it virtually when the admissions and financial aid offers roll in. :)</p>
<p>Inasmuch as there are no minimum age requirements to share a drink in a VIRTUAL world, the short answer is that I am indeed allowed to drink legally. After all, I did not join CC while in middle school. /wink wink</p>