@Sally_Rubenstone I disagree. This ACT was around the same (in my opinion) difficulty as the released ACTs.
But wouldn’t all that come out in the wash once you look at percentiles? I mean, yes, maybe a higher raw number (MAYBE), but wouldn’t that all shake out when you look at percentiles? Or am I missing something?
The first time I took it, the highest I had ever scored on a practice test was a 25. Had a 33 composite, 35 English with almost no preparation.
The second time I took it, I was practicing a 33- 34 and got a 35.
The final time I took it, I had rarely ever practiced a 36 and was absolutely surprised to receive one.
I got exactly what I expected (a 32), a little better than my PSAT (with more prep) and about as well as my SAT. I remember guessing after I took it that I got a 32, and sure enough… Does anyone else have a hard time with the science section though? That was my lowest score. Any tips on improving science score? I just felt lost and hopeless in the science section, and want to improve it on a second attempt.
Also, I don’t remember exactly but my practice ACT put me somewhere in the 20s so the real thing was easier for me.
I used to get a 30 on the practice tests, and that’s what received on the actual one. All of my practice tests were the free booklets from the ACT website, and I used about 4 of them.
I was very sick on test day, so that influenced my Math and Science section performance.
Anyway, on the practice tests, these were my subscores:
English - 28
Math - 31
Science - 31
Reading - 30
Composite - 30
On the actual test:
English - 31
Math - 30
Science - 30
Reading - 28
Composite - 30
@CCName9 the science section came pretty naturally to me so I don’t know if this is great advice but I just try to think about it logically. When I took the ACT I got a 36 on science and I didn’t recognize half the words/concepts in it but you don’t really need to know everything to get the questions right, so I would just say don’t get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information… try to think it through and just look at the graphs logically. Sorry if that didn’t help but that’s what I did! Good luck!
I thought the real test was at the same difficulty level as the practice ones I took in the Princeton review book. But I was a little surprised since my score was a 32 on the practice and a 34 on the actual. However, I do think it’s because I used a new strategy on the actual test that saved me a lot of time. Not sure if I’m going to take it again senior year…
Was expecting a 32, got a 34.
As for Mrs. Rubenstone’s theory: The test didn’t seem any easier than it was in the past.
It’s not that the test is necessarily easier, but that its crowd may be changing. I was advised by an old-timey guidance counselor to take the SAT if I wanted Ivies or other top-notch schools because the SAT is favored. Further, the SAT’s focus on reasoning over curriculum probably attracted bright students anyways.
As for the rest, I think you’re correct. The students taking the SAT I to get into Ivies, more capable students, switched over, inflating the scores. Regular people still got their same old scores or worked their tails off for their improvements.
DId the june act scores writing get released?
I was expecting a 30-32 and was pleasantly surprised when I learned that I had gotten a 35. My PSAT score would have placed me at getting a 29, so drastic increase I’d say. But the 35 did come with practice between taking the PSAT and ACT. My practice tests only got better as I went along, and by the end, they were pretty much in line with my score so it’s hard to build a comparison.
first SAT: 2120, first ACT 34
I didn’t prepare for either, and the 34 is definitely better.
@CDOESenior2k16 Thank you, that sounds like great advice! The info does seem pretty excessive when many questions just ask for reading a number off of a chart, so I’ll definitely try to focus more on that.
The Science section wouldn’t be so hard if you didn’t have to process information at the speed of a super computer in order to finish it on time. I personally like the SAT better just because they are a little more generous with time, I barely finish on the SAT but I at least finish. With the ACT I had to guess on like the last 6-7 questions on the Reading and Science Sections.
On the SAT I got 1860 my first time and 1870 my second time. The only time I took the ACT I got 26. (Which is like the equivalent of a 1750 on the SAT)
I took the ACT cuz my school offered a free one on a school day to all juniors. I dont like the ACT because of the time constraints and science. I prefer the SAT tbh. I finished the test thinking i did horrible but I actually somehow got a 29. If what youre getting at is that it’s easier to score well on the ACT, I think youre right.
DS scored at the higher end of the range predicted by his PLAN test. He also scored very close to what his Kaplan session predicted. No surprises here.
I did better with seemingly less preparation for my ACT. First two times I got a 31 and a 32, respectively, with ~10 hours of prep for each. The last one I took was 7 months after my 32. With zero prep (except maybe taking classes that engaged my learning differently) I got a 35. I think stress, sleep, and waking my mind up the morning of the test made all the difference.
daughter has had a 30, 32, 30 on ACT. This last test was less than what we expected. oh well! we are good with the 32.
Entirely. I scored a 34 but by no means do I personally believe I deserved a 35 and a 32 on English and Reading.
My PSAT was 215 and SATs were 2110 first time and 1900 second. Scored two 32s before this 34.
My friend took the SAT 4 times and clocked out with a superscore of 2190. Her ACT is a 28.