Why/why not report scores to HS?

<p>My D took the ACT in December and did very well. I checked the box to send the scores to the HS (not any colleges). She has decided to take it again in February, is there any reason to send the scores to her HS, or should I wait and see if she improved? Is there an option to send the score at a later time?</p>

<p>I think high schools like to get the scores and there is no charge for sending scores when you take the test. The only reason I could see not sending scores is if the high school reports all the scores on the transcript and the student gets a bad score. At our high school, we can request that only certain scores get sent with the transcript. I’m not sure if ACT will send the score to a high school at a later date. If so, I’m sure there is a fee associated with it, as it is with test scores sent to colleges after the test is taken.</p>

<p>We did with our older kids. Our youngest son is not having any scores sent to the hs. The scores are on the transcript and can not be removed at our hs. In fact S2’s transcript was never updated to reflect higher SATs and SAT2 scores taken in early Sr. year so the information was outdated anyway (even though the hs had new data). This totally defeats the purpose of score choice. I also feel that if the hs is going to put scores on transcripts it should be complete, or show the student in the best light. I fully understand that transcript scores are not read as official by colleges, however it is simply the principle of the matter. If your student plans on using score choice, ask your students GC if transcript scores are optional, or at the very least updated when new scores come in. If not think twice about this.</p>

<p>At one of the parent assemblies, the principal applauded the kid who’d gotten a 36 on ACT and when DS was presented to the School Board for an award, the principal announced his 800 on an SATII as one of his achievement. I’m assuming the school got the info through the reporting. </p>

<p>Whether you’d want that or not is personal choice.</p>

<p>If the student “doesn’t test well” you might consider not reporting the scores. Applying to an SAT-Optional college from a HS that puts SAT scores on the transcript could create problems you’ll want to avoid.</p>

<p>If the scores don’t appear on the high school transcript I think it simplifies things for the high school and enables them to put the scores on Naviance and be more helpful with college counseling. If they do appear on the transcript you might want to think twice before giving them official scores.</p>

<p>Thank you. I just talked to the GC and she said they only use scores for internal purposes, they don’t put ACT scores on transcripts. I guess I was just paranoid and was thinking I would only want to give the HS the highest score.</p>

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<p>I’d want to know what that means. Another reason not to send scores to the h.s. is if the student doesn’t test particularly well, you might not want counselors to have a subconscious bias if they are involved in selecting students for awards, etc.</p>

<p>“they only use scores for internal purposes …”</p>

<p>You mean like Academic Awards, background material for Letters of Recommendations, responding to inquiries from colleges, and (gulp) electronic versions of the HS transcript? Internal purposes like those?</p>

<p>As for the Naviance data issue, CC contributors who support Naviance systems in schools have reported that SAT/ACT scores are typically entered during the summer months … not during the school year.</p>

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<p>Did he do this without DS’s permission? In some states, by law schools may not release academic information about a student without his/her permission.</p>

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Ours got updated as soon as the new scores arrived.</p>

<p>The OP has said her daughter scored “very well” no need to suppress the scores in that case. </p>

<p>Do very good or very bad scores bias the GC’s somewhat? Probably but that’s not always a bad thing. My older son had the highest PSAT score in his class. Since his freshman year counselor had retired we were very happy that his brand new to the school counselor had something to remember him by right away. (That and he helped her work out his schedule which, as usual, the computer system was unable to do.)</p>