I took the ACT one time in April and got a 26. (E, M, R, S) I got a 31, 23, 31, 20. I’ve been taking practice tests, and now i’m consistently getting a 36, 26, 36, 30. This gives me a 32 comp on my ACT practice, and sometimes I even get a 33 comp! So it’s easy to say that I will probably get at least a 31 on the ACT, if not a 32. Will the potential 5-6 point increase be subject to flagging? Has anybody taken the ACT and had a drastic increase and has not been flagged recently? I just want confirmation that i’ll be ok. Thanks.
Even if it does get flagged, what will that mean?
You haven’t cheated, and aren’t planning to cheat, right?
I guess I’m asking just what “flagging” entails.
@bjkmom, The ACT has a history of canceling scores of students who improve too much between tests. Sometimes they say the kid was in a seat – or even in a room – that they weren’t. The families can either appeal or have the kid retake the exam to prove they didn’t cheat. There’s a thread about it on CC.
The scores for a retake have to be within 3 points of the best score, which I imagine can be tough to do when you’re stressed. These accusations, which is what flagging the exams are, have been coming late in the application cycle. Seniors who have been accepted to colleges are in danger of having their acceptances revoked, and even if they can afford a retake there isn’t always time before classes start. Families can appeal, but even when they provide proof of tutoring the appeals are rejected. From what I’ve read, most appeals are rejected, so OP has a lot to worry about.
Thanks for a great explanation, @austinmshauri This is so far outside my frame of reference!
You’re welcome, @bjkmom. I was horrified to learn about it. My daughter was considering taking the ACT because it’s more straightforward than the SAT, but I wouldn’t let her near it. It’s difficult enough to have learning disorders. Students shouldn’t also have the worry of being punished for improving. It’s horrible.
I had a big increase between scores after working with a tutor through a test prep company. I am wondering if my scores will get flagged, but I am hoping the evidence will be on my side. I worked really hard and learned a lot to get that new score and I would hate to have it taken away. I have copies of all of my session notes from my tutor and scores from my proctored practice tests that are all in the new score range, so hopefully that will help if necessary.
I can’t imagine that they try to cancel the scores of everyone who has a large score improvement. I suspect there are cases where the work shown in the test booklet supports the new score. I use my booklet a lot to help eliminate options and work out problems. I have read the thread on this board, but in all those pages there are maybe 6 or 7 scores that have been questioned, which is a very small sample set when you consider all of the score increases that have likely occurred among CC users. We can hope it’s not as widespread of an issue as it looks.
Just do the best you can, and keep your fingers crossed for 6 months!
OP, don’t worry about getting flagged. Just do your best and get that C32.
If you don’t cheat, don’t worry about getting flagged. Way over a million students take the ACT every year. If getting scores cancelled was common, you’d have way more than 5-10 people complaining about it.
If you cheat, then your score deserves to get flagged and cancelled.
@austinmshauri The ACT released a formal response to this:
https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/College-Confidential-Statement-9.pdf
They explicitly said that a drastic score increase is not why tests are flagged, and I believe them. My friend increased his score 13 points without getting flagged. They also said that “thousands” of kids have drastic score increases every year, and they aren’t flagged or are under any test review. As long as my test center assigns my seat, and the person next to me is not a cheater, I think I will be fine. I also read that thread last night, and I think that some of those people actually did cheat. It’s the ACT’s fault though. If you didn’t know, there is 1 form and 1 form only for a testing room, so cheating is very easy. It would not surprise me that the overwhelming majority of those who were flagged cheated or were cheated off. The ACT needs to stop being stupid, and make different forms and better testing procedures. That’s what makes me mad. This is my two cents on the situation. But as for me, unless i’m really unlucky, I think even the 5-6 point increase will be fine, given what the ACT said in their formal statement.
@mmk2015 Thank you mmk2015. Upon doing further research, and with the post I made above, I totally agree that large score increases alone do not merit potential cancellation. I think we’re right in this situation. (:
@959catch Lol yeah i’ll keep my fingers crossed. I’ve already wen through all the possibilities. If I do get flagged, I think I still will probably get within 3 points of my original score, so I should be able to keep my score! As for this whole situation, i’m feeling much better about not getting flagged based on ACTs formal statement I posted above.
I was flagged last year for a dramatic increase/room where people were actually cheating (not me of course), but simply submitting my practice resources was enough to get it unflagged. I think if you can demonstrate significant studying through prep books and practice tests at similar scores the appeal will likely go in your favor.
My really good friend improved by only about 6 points and had his test taken away. They tried to appeal but what we heard was that he ACT rarely gives the score back.