<p>Like a lot of people here, I'm taking the ACT tomorrow. My goal is to get a 30 even though I have a feeling I'm going to need to retake it as I don't think I am properly prepared. Anyways, I just took a practice test through ACT Online Prep and got 36 out of 40 on the science portion with my score on the 1 to 36 scale being a 29. I could be wrong and I know a curve is involved on the actual test but I found it hard to believe that missing 4 questions would drop me 7 points... Based on percentage I got about 90% of the questions correct but a 29 out of 36 is closer to 80%.</p>
<p>I just wanted to know from some more experienced ACT test takers if this score sounds reasonable or not. Also, if you anyone has the time, could you give me your personal estimate for how many questions I can miss per section to score a 30 on each subject.</p>
<p>No, I wouldn’t say that type of curve usually occurs. The test you took probably had a super hard curve because it was easy. In my practice book, there is one test that gives you a 29 after missing four. The other tests in the book will put you in the 31-34 range if you miss four. The June ACT was most likely like the one you took. I believe that test had a harder curve because it wasn’t as hard.</p>
<p>On average (according to my book), I’d say missing this number of questions in each category will still net you a 30.
English: 8
Math: 7
Reading: 8
Science: 5-6</p>
<p>IMO the science curve is ridiculously harsh. Missing just a few questions leads to a high 20’s or low 30’s section score. </p>
<p>In the red book, missing four science questions leads to a score of 29, 32, 33, 32, and 34 on the five practice tests. So, try some more practice tests, missing 4 isn’t always as crappy as it is on the practice test you took. The one you took probably had a particularly harsh curve.</p>