<p>Everyone kept telling me to take the ACT in December & April because the scaling is higher. The December score was the first time I took it, and it was the highest score I've received so far. I took it again in February, and it went down. Then, in April it stayed the same.</p>
<p>Does anyone know about how the scaling usually differs by month, and is the June ACT usually a good ACT for most people?</p>
<p>^what do you meant by “scaling is higher”?</p>
<p>Mathematically, more people taking it, the easier it would be.</p>
<p>Actually, april usually has the harsest curves.</p>
<p>The idea that one test or another test will have an easier curve depending on the month that it is given is complete rubbish. The test’s curve will depend on the overall performance on the test and the “generalized demographics of the students taking the test” will have no bearing on the curve. This means that if you take the ACT or SAT on any test date, the DATE will not change the curve. However, if it is a “harder” tet and people perform worse, there will be a more lenient curve.</p>
<p>I got my highest in December which was 31 then I took in February and went down to 29. I know a lot of people that scored exceptionally high in December. I guess it was a hard test idk. Im taking this one in a week for the final time.</p>
<p>I have no idea what you tried to say. </p>
<p>But simply put, act and sat grade tests by scoring them first. Then put them under the natural curve to determine the curve. And that’s why April ACT/SAT is generally hard because during those dates, most test takers are prepared, therefore curve is less forgivable. On the other hand, june is usually easier because more people (and especially more less prepared people) are taking it, hence dragging the natural curve down. </p>
<p>Therefore in theory, if you have 100000 dummies taking the test at June, if you scored 36 on that it might mean you can only get around 29 in April. However, such thing will not happen and historically both tests have a usual natural curve.</p>
<p>@keliojames955</p>
<p>I actually think what I’m saying is pretty clear. To reiterate. your point that
“April ACT/SAT is generally hard because during those dates, most test takers are prepared, therefore curve is less forgivable. On the other hand, june is usually easier because more people (and especially more less prepared people) are taking it, hence dragging the natural curve down.” is incorrect and unfounded. </p>
<p>Your example where “dummies” take the test in June is exactly what I meant by saying “generalized demographics of the students taking the test” and how this thought is untrue.</p>
<p>Think about this on a macro level, as a whole dumb people do not test in month X and smart people do not test in month Y. The curves will not consistently be easier or harder. The “natural curve” will not be “dragged down.” Anecdotally, while you may personally know some less bright people taking the June test and not the April test, I know very many bright students taking the June test who have not yet taken the ACT.</p>
<p>@LiamNesson</p>
<p>however, i do agree somewhat with @IdontGIVEaSHIZ . The smartest students usually take the ACT in April, for some reason, and the dumbest kids take it in June. I don’t know why. But that’s somehow how it worked in the past. Maybe it was just a fluke. However, if there is a real pattern here, I wonder if you could think of it like this. The “natural curve” has about half the students scoring better than a 20, and half worse (look here if you dont believe me [Score</a> Information | National Ranks for Test Scores and Composite Score | ACT Student](<a href=“ACT Test Scores | ACT Scoring | ACT”>ACT Test Scores | ACT Scoring | ACT) ). So let’s assume since all the June kids and April kids took a past ACT with a predetermined curve. Assuming this theory is right, the April crowd would do somewhat better than the June crowd. However, they are being given the short end of the stick when it comes to real scores, because the average June kid who may average a 18 will end up with a 20, while the somewhat more intelligent April kid with a 22 average may also get a 20. Its not a severe difference, but its enough to have some people ask some questions. I wonder why no real research has been done by either ACT or a private company to see what test date will yield the highest scores. I don’t know its June, but it is possible. Someone would have to conduct the above experiment. However, seeing a large group of people all having dropping scores from April to June or vice versa would raise some eyebrows.</p>
<p>Do not take April horrible curve.</p>
<p>Just depends on the people really- although my highest have always been in June :P</p>