Superscoring - Is this statement true?

Parents Forum
1

I went down the internet rabbit hole while researching a question I had about SAT testing. I found the following statement on the website of a well known test prep company. So I’m not sure if it is correct.

" Because you can choose which tests to send in, and a college will form your Superscore, you can take the SAT as many times as you want, then submit only the tests that give you the highest Superscore. Your application readers will only see that one score.

The part I’m questioning is whether admission officers would only see a superscore. I always thought that they’d see the total scores but consider the superscore (and use that in their common data set probably).

If the statement is true, this might affect my kid’s testing strategy.

And while we’re on the subject, why don’t most schools accept ACT superscores? I never understood that.

FYI - my kid isn’t considering highly selective schools. Also, I’d post this on the Testing forum, but I’ve noticed the posts don’t get many responses.

2

Some schools require all tests to be sent.

I believe that comment means that if you take it three times, and two of your scores give you the highest super score, you can just send in those two scores and forget about the third. The college will still see the total scores.

3

Depends on the college what they do.

4

OK, thanks. I understand that most schools allow a kid to send only the best scores - I just questioned whether the admission people would only see the composite of the superscore or the total scores of all the test results submitted.

Now that I think about it - it must not be true because most college applications I’ve seen don’t allow a kid to superscore themselves on their apps (or do they?). So the admission folks would see the total scores anyway.

5

I don’t think what you wrote here is accurate.

  1. Most colleges will require submission of ALL SAT tests taken. No option to pick and choose.
  2. The college board doesn’t do the superscoring....the colleges do that. They will look at all of your scores and then take the highest scores from each subtext to superscore. So...the colleges will see ALL of the scores.
  3. Some colleges don’t superscore at all for admissions. Some don’t superscore for scholarship consideration.
6

I agree - every college is different. Some require all tests to be sent. Some superscore, some don’t. Even if they do, the only way admissions officers would not see all the scores is if some computer program automatically superscored for them before the application landed on their desks.

Some schools do superscore the ACT, just not as many. Here’s a link to a CC thread discussing this several years ago:

http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/sat-act-tests-test-preparation/1405308-why-do-colleges-superscore-the-sat-but-not-the-act.html

7

In some colleges some underling will write your superscore on the outside of the folder or somewhere the actual reader will see it first and that may be the only score they look at. At other colleges the readers may see all the scores and it’s just that they superscore for the Common Data form. Some readers may see you took the SAT many times, some may not. No college ever said at any college night I went to that they were impressed with single sitting scores that were high, nor that taking the SAT two or three times was an issue - they expect it. At least once college admissions officer said they MIGHT (and I emphasize might) wonder about someone who took the SAT four or more times. They might wonder why they didn’t have better things to do on a Saturday morning, they said it would really depend on what the rest of the application looked like.

8

I don’t know what reviewers see but I wouldn’t sweat the details. If going for merit based on scores, take the test again to reach the required level. If not looking for merit, just get above, say, an ACT 32. After that, it doesn’t really matter. Focus on the other parts of the application (search for “packaging” here on CC for more details, as scores don’t mean much after a certain threshold is reached – experience speaking here).

9

“Even if they do, the only way admissions officers would not see all the scores is if some computer program automatically superscored for them before the application landed on their desks.”

Exactly, @Choski94 That’s why I was skeptical. I just wonder if colleges are doing that (I doubt it). I do think I recall that either the Common App or some net price calculators do ask “What is your highest score on the SAT math/CRW section” etc. But I think they also ask what the highest composite score is. Then a student has to have CB send official scores to back up that info, so the colleges are going to see the composite.

Thanks for the link about ACT superscoring.

@thumper1

“1. Most colleges will require submission of ALL SAT tests taken. No option to pick and choose.”

I’ve only been doing this admissions thing for a couple of years, but in my experience, it’s the other way around. Most colleges don’t require submission of all test scores. I just looked at three colleges my kid is considering applying to and none of them “require” all tests scores be sent. One “recommended” and two "encouraged. All three said the purpose of that was so that a superscore could be calculated. But I’m wondering if it’s to superscore for the benefit of the kid, or to evaluate a kid’s performance during all tests which might not benefit the kid.

“2. The college board doesn’t do the superscoring…the colleges do that. They will look at all of your scores and then take the highest scores from each subtext to superscore. So…the colleges will see ALL of the scores.”

Yes, I know the CB doesn’t do the superscoring. I don’t think I said anywhere in my post that CB did that. Again, I don’t think colleges will see all the scores unless the student decides to send all the scores (or is required to by the college).

“3. Some colleges don’t superscore at all for admissions. Some don’t superscore for scholarship consideration.”

OK, good to know about the scholarship thing. I don’t think any of the schools that I’ve looked at that offer scholarships based on GPA/test scores has definitively stated what score is used to determine scholarship eligiblity. Although I’m thinking it might have been a few NPC’s that asked for the “highest score” in each section to provide an estimated COA.

10

@mathmom Thanks, that’s helpful.

Then there’s the question of what information is on a high school transcript - do the high schools get the SAT/ACT scores?. My older kid didn’t send all of her AP test scores to her college, but somehow they got all of them (and are listed in her student profile on her school’s online information app).

11

I found a good chart here at another site that has a sortable table where you can see score choice policies at 360 colleges & universities; I don’t think CC will let me post the link- but the company is called Compass Education Group and the page title is “Superscoring ACT and SAT and Score Choice”…so you can Google to find it.

Here is my take: I think you should act on the assumption that colleges will take the highest subtest scores into consideration while making choices, but also that they probably will end up seeing all the scores whether you plan it that way or not. Sometimes the scores end up being reported on high school transcripts rather than directly from the testing agency. (My daughter chose to submit ACT scores only, not SATs, and specifically asked her high school g.c. to make sure that the scores were not included along with the high school transcript … and yet somehow when she logged into the admitted student page the college also had her SAT scores. )

I also personally take the assertion that colleges which superscore will disregard the number of tests or lower scores with a grain of salt. Kind of like “need blind” admission… as in, yes, that’s what they say they do, but do you really think that an admission reader is not going to notice if there are wildly divergent scores or an applicant has taken the test 6 times over in order to attempt to boost scores?

12

It depends on the school I think. My D’s SAT/ACT scores do not appear on her transcript, but I think they do for some schools. It’s my understanding that AP scores do go to the school (in fact, the teachers get the scores a few days before they are released to the kids), but at my D’s school those don’t appear on the transcript either. If you want them to go to a college, you have to request they be sent from Collegeboard.

13

@calmom I think you’re spot on. That’s why I posted. I didn’t believe what this very well known prep company had stated and just wanted some input.

I was hoping it was true because I have a kid who probably would benefit from being able to devote her SAT prep to just one of the two sections.

14

As long as your scores are basically within the college’s usual range and back up your course choices and grades as proof you can handle the work at that college, then all the college cares about is how the scores make THEM look. That is why they superscore— so they can report higher averages.

You cannot send only part of a test, but if you send two tests, many colleges superscore and will consider only your highest scores on each part. (E.g., December 710, 680 and March 700, 690 would be treated as 710, 690).

(Very few colleges require applicants to submit all tests, so the applicant above could have chosen not to send a 670, 650 test if that is what they had another day. Read the college’s guidelines, because a very few colleges DO request all tests. But even so, for the aforementioned reasons, the highest scores will carry the most weight.)

15

OP, take the college’s word on what they do for super scoring, they really have no reason to lie to you.

For example, from their websites:

Yale: Superscoring: When assessing SAT results, admissions officers will focus on your highest individual section scores from all test dates. For example, if you took the SAT twice, your highest Evidence-Based Reading and Writing, Math, and Essay scores will be considered individually. When assessing ACT results, admissions officers focus on the highest ACT Composite and highest Writing score from all test dates, and also consider individual ACT subscores.

UChicago: Yes, we superscore both the SAT and ACT. If you take the test multiple times, we will take your highest individual sub-section scores and combine them to give you the highest overall score possible. For example, let’s say you submitted SAT scores from a June test, and they were 600 critical reading (CR) and 700 math (M). Later, you submitted SAT scores from a November test, and they were 700 CR and 600 M. We would consider your overall score to be 1400 (700 CR and 700 M).

Stanford: We want you to have the best test representation possible, and we will superscore your results according to the following rubric: For the SAT, we will focus on the highest individual Evidence-Based Reading and Writing, Math, and Essay scores from all test sittings. For SAT exams taken prior to March 2016, we will focus on the highest Critical Reading, Math and Writing scores. Because we are not able to superscore across the two exams, we will superscore results within the old and new SAT exams separately. For the ACT, we will review all subscores and will focus on the highest Composite and the highest English and writing scores from all test sittings.

Columbia: If you take an exam more than once, you will be evaluated on the highest score you received in any individual section. Please note that if you are applying for Fall 2018 admission, we will accept scores from both the redesigned SAT and the previous SAT; however, we will consider only the highest testing results reported from one version of the test, not across both versions.

…and so on, as you can note they ONLY CONSIDER/FOCUS on the highest scores, or you can believe whatever random poster on CC says or maybe what the university PUTS IN PRINT on THEIR WEBSITES…

16

@CU123 I have read what colleges put in print on their websites, but they don’t list the intricate details of the application evaluation process.

My question wasn’t whether colleges superscore or how they do it. It was “Do application readers (the ones who make the admission decision) only see the superscore?” None of those examples you listed address that question.

And I wasn’t questioning whether colleges were lying; I was questioning whether the test prep company was making an incorrect statement.

17

Your not understanding the process, the AO’s who are evaluating the packages see all the scores, but they are not the final decision makers. They take applicants to an admissions board who do not see all the scores, they only see the “best” scores. This is where the AO’s make their arguments for who they think should get in to the board. The board then makes the final decisions. This is how it was explained to me by Harvard and UChicago AO’s.

18

Well OK then. The statement on the website could be true - at least for Harvard and UChicago. That’s all I was asking.

My kid is not applying to an Ivy or equivalent, but I suppose the public universities she’s considering might use that same process.

19

I imagine it is similar as they probably have applications in the 10’s of thousands.

20

Ds state university required all. According to Admission friend that’s because students might not pick the correct test to send. He led me to believe the online system pulled highest sections to superstore for review. I doubt at large schools it’s getting done by hand