To retest or not to retest. ACT question

[katty96]

My ds has taken the ACT test 3 times. 2x he got scores lower than he was expecting.  The 3rd time his score was a 28. A big jump, but more normal with his practice tests.   Dh wants him to take the Kaplan class or prepscholar and retest in February to see if he can get 30.   My opinion is that a 30 is great and helps with scholarships, but he has gone through the barons book and taken multiple practice tests in prep for the 3 previous tests.  The classes probably don’t have any new info.  And maybe 28 is good.  

How many times did your kids take the test and when did you just call it good enough?also do you think the classes help?

thanks

Katy

[RootAnn]

What grade is he in? What does HE want? (Mine was so done with standardized testing by spring of Junior year.) 

Was his jump 5 or more points? (I only ask this because the ACT has a bad habit of sending people letters a year or more after their test telling them that they think there was cheating on a test when the composite grew 5 or more points between sittings.)

My eldest didn't take any classes. I told her that no matter how she did on her SAT & ACT in spring of junior year, she was done.  (Neither of us remember if I gave her that same assurance on her SAT.) Next kid will likely take it a couple of times to try to get whatever score she is averaging on her practice tests. We'll call that 'good enough.'

Some people are looking for that 'just one more point' that they need for a significant scholarship or a merit bump. I think that if a kid hasn't prepped much and is dedicated to doing test prep to get that point or two, it is worth it to keep going. But, the kid has to be motivated, not the parents. The parents aren't the one taking the test.

[regentrude]

My perfectionist DD retook the ACT because the "only" got a 32 and wanted to improve (which she did). No class, just prep book.

My minimalist DS took the ACT one single time. In order to get him to study I promised him he would only have to do it once if he studied and did well enough. He might have improved on a second try, but it would have been hard to get him to buy in, and his score was fine for admission to his college.

As an advisor, I see my incoming college freshmen's scores. There are some who retake it many times, and they typically do not improve very much between tries.

 

Edited October 23, 2018 by regentrude

[Lori D.]

In addition to the law of diminishing returns kicking in (i.e., only very minor improvement with each successive re-testing), colleges tend to frown on more than about 3 tries of the same test. A 28 on the ACT will get DS admitted to a majority of non-top tier, non-selective/competitive schools, and there is a good chance of partial tuition scholarship $$ with that score, depending on which school he applies to.

I personally would stop after 3 times. We stopped after 2 times, as each DS here took 1 ACT and 1 SAT. No experience with the Kaplan or PrepScholar classes, but we did do a video series for prep, plus read through tips and did a practice test from the College Board SAT blue practice book. DS#1 did the SAT in fall and ACT in late spring of 11th grade for his 2 tests. DS#2 tested in the fall of 11th and 12th grades for his 2 tests. That was more time-crunchy doing a test in 12th grade, as there are SO many things going on in the 11th and 12th grade years, and I would not do that I again if I could at all avoid it and finish all testing by the end of 11th grade, if at all possible.

If you *really* feel you MUST re-test one more time, consider doing 1 SAT instead of yet another ACT. Your student might "click" better with the SAT. You could have him do the SAT question of the day for practice, as well as the College Board blue prep book.

As an aside, I think that may be very optimistic to hope for another big jump from 28 to 30, since the 28 score was already a big jump from previous tests. Even the test prep courses that guarantee an increase in score don't guarantee more than a 1-2 point rise in ACT score, and your DS may have already experienced his big jump, and further prep and testing may not make any further improvements. If there are other activities and courses that you and DS would really prefer spending your time on, then it would be absolutely fine to stop prepping/testing and move on with your lives. (:D

BEST of luck, whatever you decide. Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited October 23, 2018 by Lori D.

[teachermom2834]

I would retest only for a specific realistic goal. For example if a two point increase would put him in another tier for automatic merit aid. I would not retest thinking a 30 vs a 28 would yield extra consideration for competitive scholarships. In my experience the additional competitive scholarships above automatic merit aid are unlikely at even a 30 ACT. At least that was our experience through our first two kids. 

It is a difficult question to answer without specifics about the colleges and scholarships you are interested in. But in general I am not in favor of continuing to test just to try to add a point or two without a specific goal.

[katilac]

1 hour ago, teachermom2834 said:

I would retest only for a specific realistic goal. For example if a two point increase would put him in another tier for automatic merit aid. I would not retest thinking a 30 vs a 28 would yield extra consideration for competitive scholarships.  

2

 

Exactly this. But RootAnn has a point about potential problems if it was a 5 point jump. 

[Lanny]

I (politely) disagree with your DH.  I do NOT think that your DS (or anyone) should take one of those examinations more than 3 times.  However, I wonder about him taking the SAT. A completely different type of test.  Lots of free videos (and official SAT examinations) are available on KhanAcademy.

GL to your DS.

[Lucy the Valiant]

Does he normally score >30 on practice tests?

[MerryAtHope]

DD took it twice and got decent scores, but not as high as her practice test, so she was a bit disappointed. However, she really didn't want to study and test again a third time--she had put a lot of study into the second one, and I respected her decision.

I too would go with the SAT instead of retaking the ACT.

[Corraleno]

DS took the ACT three times, and improved 5 points between the 1st and 3rd tries (thankfully with an intermediate score on 2nd try, so he wouldn't be accused of cheating). On the third try he got a 33, which was the minimum score he needed for the scholarship he wanted, so he was done. He had already maxed out the English & Reading scores (36), had a strong science score, and got the exact same score in math he'd got on the two previous tests (because there's just no way to make his ADHD brain work faster), so in his case there wouldn't have been any point in another try, even if a 34 might have earned more money.

As other people mentioned, if there is a 5 point difference between his most recent score and the previous one, I would be tempted to have him take it one more time as insurance against cheating allegations, as well as to see if he can get another point or two. But I would look closely at the subscores, and the specific questions he got wrong, to see if there is a certain type of problem that he's struggling with or a particular area he could focus on, rather than have him just go through another prep book from front to back.

ETA: I just noticed that you mentioned PrepScholar — that's what DS used between the 2nd & 3rd tests, and he felt that it helped him a lot with both strategy and speed. Made no difference at all in his math score, because he was already going as fast as he was capable of, but it bumped his other three scores from low-30s to 36, 36, 34. The bump up to a 33 was worth an additional $4000/yr (x 4 yrs), so I felt like the $400 for PrepScholar was money well spent.

Edited October 24, 2018 by Corraleno

[Melissa B]

When my dd didn't get the score she wanted for scholarships after the third try (within two years) she switched to the SAT and got the needed score the first time.

[kirag714]

2 hours ago, Melissa B said:

When my dd didn't get the score she wanted for scholarships after the third try (within two years) she switched to the SAT and got the needed score the first time.

And for my older daughter (now a sophomore in college) it was the opposite - after trying the SAT twice she did the ACT and hit the 31 she wanted on her first try. So different tests seem to work better for different kids! It's certainly worth a try.

[swimmermom3]

On 10/22/2018 at 7:29 PM, RootAnn said:

What grade is he in? What does HE want? (Mine was so done with standardized testing by spring of Junior year.) 

Was his jump 5 or more points? (I only ask this because the ACT has a bad habit of sending people letters a year or more after their test telling them that they think there was cheating on a test when the composite grew 5 or more points between sittings.)

My eldest didn't take any classes. I told her that no matter how she did on her SAT & ACT in spring of junior year, she was done.  (Neither of us remember if I gave her that same assurance on her SAT.) Next kid will likely take it a couple of times to try to get whatever score she is averaging on her practice tests. We'll call that 'good enough.'

Some people are looking for that 'just one more point' that they need for a significant scholarship or a merit bump. I think that if a kid hasn't prepped much and is dedicated to doing test prep to get that point or two, it is worth it to keep going. But, the kid has to be motivated, not the parents. The parents aren't the one taking the test.

 

Are you serious about the part in bold?  Ds earned a 26 composite on his first test and a 31 on his second test.  He drilled and drilled on speed and made sure he understood exactly how to approach the science portion. His math stayed the same with the English and science going up.

Now, three years later, he has taken the GRE twice, within three weeks of each other. The situation and scoring are almost identical to the ACT.

It really does depend on what the student wants. Mine needed the financial help that the higher ACT gave him access to and was willing to study for it.

[RootAnn]

I am serious, @swimmermom3. Not everyone gets them, but some do. Having an equivalent or higher SAT is helpful because you can just tell the ACT to jump off a cliff and send the equivalent SAT to your college with an explanation of the situation. We all know kids cam increase their scores by that much or more, but the ACT finds it suspicious.

[TracyP]

19 hours ago, swimmermom3 said:

 

Are you serious about the part in bold?  Ds earned a 26 composite on his first test and a 31 on his second test.  He drilled and drilled on speed and made sure he understood exactly how to approach the science portion. His math stayed the same with the English and science going up.

 

 

There is a thread on College Board where a couple mothers claim that happened to their child. However, in the cases I read, the student(s) also had the same answers as another tester in the room. I think there may be more to these stories than their mothers want to admit...

Several (maybe even most) posters read the situation differently than I do, so take my perspective with that in mind. Or maybe they have info beyond that thread that substantiates the claims that were made. I'd just hate to think that people are getting worried over nothing, which is what it seems like to me.

Edited October 26, 2018 by TracyP

[Bambam]

You can look at the back of the ACT practice test booklets to see how many more answers he would have to get correct to bump his composite up 2 points. 

We spent some time on this to see if it was worth youngest taking the ACT again (wanted to go up only 1 point composite), but after looking at it, we decided it would not be worth the effort. 

[Meriwether]

On 10/23/2018 at 10:26 AM, teachermom2834 said:

I would retest only for a specific realistic goal. For example if a two point increase would put him in another tier for automatic merit aid. I would not retest thinking a 30 vs a 28 would yield extra consideration for competitive scholarships. In my experience the additional competitive scholarships above automatic merit aid are unlikely at even a 30 ACT. At least that was our experience through our first two kids. 

It is a difficult question to answer without specifics about the colleges and scholarships you are interested in. But in general I am not in favor of continuing to test just to try to add a point or two without a specific goal.

I have no experience with applying for college and scholarships. Dd15 has a 32. She wants to take the ACT again this spring. We think she could improve her score with some targeted practice. Is that not worth doing?  It would be very helpful to our family if she got good scholarships. It would be her third time. She took it as an eighth grader.

[dirty ethel rackham]

5 minutes ago, Meriwether said:

I have no experience with applying for college and scholarships. Dd15 has a 32. She wants to take the ACT again this spring. We think she could improve her score with some targeted practice. Is that not worth doing?  It would be very helpful to our family if she got good scholarships. It would be her third time. She took it as an eighth grader.

I wouldn't consider the 8th grade test in your determination.  I think, since she is only 15, she may benefit from taking it again with some targeted practice, if you have a specific goal for a higher score.  If she were a senior with a 32, I'd say no, unless a 1 point difference could open up a scholarship at a specific target school.  

[katilac]

Just now, Meriwether said:

I have no experience with applying for college and scholarships. Dd15 has a 32. She wants to take the ACT again this spring. We think she could improve her score with some targeted practice. Is that not worth doing?  It would be very helpful to our family if she got good scholarships. It would be her third time. She took it as an eighth grader.

 

Is she currently a sophomore or a junior? If she's a sophomore, I'd consider waiting until junior year simply bc some schools don't like to see you take it repeatedly. Of course, if she's not looking at those schools, then bombs away! On the other hand, if she's looking at schools that have a matrix, she can easily see if a 33 or 34 will get her more money than a 32. 

The sucky bit is that it's much harder to raise an already high score. And, the higher your score, the more likely it is that your next score will actually be lower. Your dd has a high score, about 97th percentile. That does not mean she can't raise it, it's just something to keep in mind. 

If she has a lower score in one area, that's great (if that low score is in science, even better). It's easier to raise a low score in one category than to raise already high scores. If she didn't prep for her prior tests, that's also good. She can take practice tests before signing up for another real one

So, I'd explain that to her and discuss what makes sense. I wouldn't schedule another real test until she shows higher scores on more than one practice test in a row. And I'd probably not do a thing (prep or practice) until spring if she is indeed a sophomore. Sometimes a bit more time and maturity will help the scores. 

 

[Meriwether]

Thank you. She is a sophomore. She isn't wanting to attend a competitive school, but she wants to be competitive for scholarships. We think she could potentially raise math and science scores by a good 4 points each. I don't expect a perfect score in anything but especially math. She isn't careful enough for that.

[Corraleno]

If she's only a sophomore now, I would definitely have her retake it spring of junior year. That's another year and a half of math and science under her belt; add in  some targeted prep spread over the next 18 months to work on speed and strategy, and she certainly has the potential to bring the composite up a couple of points. A 32 is a great score, especially or a sophomore, but a 34 could open up even more scholarship opportunities.