Question about ACT written test

[clh2]

I tell you - I don't think anything has prepared me for "getting your child ready for college!"

So - my question today is related to the "written" portion of the ACT test. We were at a college fair today, and were talking with a rep for the school, where the ave. ACT score is around 28, with 30 being a better score in the admissions process. DD (a junior) is not happy with her ACT score, and we discussed this with the rep. The rep totally encouraged DD to take the ACT test again (which DD is going to do.) The rep also asked about her writing score. DD scored an 8 on this part of the test.

The rep said - that this was a fine score on the writing part. And, if she just retakes the ACT to not take the writing option.

This just makes no sense to me...so I'm wondering, is this true?

Thanks!

 

[Buckalew11]

Won't they take the highest writing score? So if she gets a 7 next time, won't they still take the 8? But if she scored a 10, they'd take it. What would it hurt?

 

[clh2]

Won't they take the highest writing score? So if she gets a 7 next time, won't they still take the 8? But if she scored a 10, they'd take it. What would it hurt?

I guess where I am confused is - why would they treat this portion of the ACT separately. Most colleges will only take the "total" score from your best test. Most do not take your best score for the individual components, regardless of how many times your take the test. (Although I do know of one school that WILL take your best english score, best math score, best science score and best reading score).

I don't understand why the writing test would be considered separately.

Again, I am still trying to figure this all out.

 

[HeatherH]

Two issues here.

1) Some schools require ACT alone, some require ACT plus writing. The writing part only affects the composite ENGLISH score, if schools consider that. Those that don't require writing don't consider the writing subscore.

2) Retaking the test CAN help for those schools that "superscore" and take the best subscores from each section between the two tests, and take the higher of the two. I think for the schools that require the writing portion AND that superscore, they WILL consider the higher writing score into their own internal admissions scoring process.

I would encourage your daughter to take the ACT with writing AGAIN. The writing score does NOT affect her composite overall with ACT, but you never know if she will apply to a school that does require the writing included and she may improve that part. She does not have to report ALL her scores...she can choose which or all to report to the schools she is applying to.

 

[Buckalew11]

I've heard of a lot of scores looking at your best component scores (math, science etc.) My nephew's choice didn't even care about that writing score. Well, none of his choices cared. He scored a 34 overall anyway but he did benefit 3 points by taking the prep course that is offered.

Good luck. DD took it last year for the first time and his required to take in in her JR and SR years too. And the fun begins!!! :/ lol

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

Is the written section new? I know when I took the SAT and ACT (10 years ago mind you) it was nothing but multiple choice, fill in the bubbles. Probably a good thing since my writing skills back then were horrible.

 

[clh2]

Is the written section new? I know when I took the SAT and ACT (10 years ago mind you) it was nothing but multiple choice, fill in the bubbles. Probably a good thing since my writing skills back then were horrible.

I think it has around for about 5 or 6 years. Some colleges/universities require it, others do not. Since it is optional, they give this part of the test AFTER the fill in the bubbles section.

 

[bballmom56]

This particular college obviously superscores, taking the highest score from each portion of the test, even if from different sittings. Many colleges do this now, but not all. So this one does, which is a good thing for the applicant. Maybe the rep. just wanted to take some pressure off your DD by saying she could leave off the writing portion, which would make her testing day a little shorter. But if she did choose to take it and got a higher score, they would count that instead of the 7. So it is kind of up to her. If she didn't mind the writing portion, sure do it again. If she really detests it, then drop it and remove some stress and she can focus on the rest of the test.

 

[swanmom]

My DD was in the same situation. All her scores were high except for math. The college rep said to retake the test without the writing. He said to focus her attention on the math and save herself the stress of doing the writing part. For my DD, it really helped. With the writing section, the test is extremely long. The fact that she knew she did not have to continue working after the regular test time really helped alleviate her stress. BTW, her other scores remained pretty much the same but her math score went up two points!

 

[cabanafrau]

Is the written section new? I know when I took the SAT and ACT (10 years ago mind you) it was nothing but multiple choice, fill in the bubbles. Probably a good thing since my writing skills back then were horrible.

Well, if I'm telling the truth I'd have to admit I took the ACT more than ten years ago so the writing plus was a new concept to me when DD signed up to take the test. The real shocker was how long it took to sign up for the test itself. Wow. Just. Wow.

 

[swanmom]

Yep. It's amazing the number of questions to answer .......... the only thing they didn't ask about DD was the color of her gym shorts!

Actually, it's really not that funny. I hate this kind of 'data mining' - particularly where my 17 year old DD is concerned. I know that they aren't supposed to release personal info but I don't have confidence in their reliability or security. And they do sell aggregate data to other companies. We answered only the ones that were absolutely necessary.

 

[golfgal]

If she needs to bring up her composite score, retake the test without writing if she already has a good score on that part. She can always retake the ACT with writing if she needs to bring that up again-being a junior she has ample opportunity to do that yet.

Also, keep in mind that the ACT scores colleges list are AVERAGES, not requirements, for admissions. The biggest benefit for her to improve her ACT score right now is for scholarships. If she can get her composite over 30, that opens up many more scholarships to her. Many of the scholarships we saw did superscore so if she has one area that is lower then the others, have her spend a lot of time on that prepping and work to get that segment up.

 

[golfgal]

Yep. It's amazing the number of questions to answer .......... the only thing they didn't ask about DD was the color of her gym shorts!

Actually, it's really not that funny. I hate this kind of 'data mining' - particularly where my 17 year old DD is concerned. I know that they aren't supposed to release personal info but I don't have confidence in their reliability or security. And they do sell aggregate data to other companies. We answered only the ones that were absolutely necessary.

We didn't have any issues with them selling information and I don't know of anyone that has. The kids CAN and should check a box that allows colleges from across the nation to send them oodles of literature but that isn't the same thing as selling their personal information.

 

[cabanafrau]

We didn't have any issues with them selling information and I don't know of anyone that has. The kids CAN and should check a box that allows colleges from across the nation to send them oodles of literature but that isn't the same thing as selling their personal information.

That box should come w/ an avalanche warning!