It’s a situation we’ve seen countless times before: You take the ACT or SAT, and you’re very happy with your scores in a few of the sections. However, your score on one section is lower than expected, and drags down your composite score. So, you prepare and take the test again, and perform much better on that section the second time around… But now your other scores aren’t quite as terrific as before. This is frustrating!
We have some good news: If your chosen school uses “superscores” to determine your composite score, you might not need to take the test again.
How it works. As you know, there are four separate sections to the ACT exam: Math, English, Reading, and Science. Each of these sections is scored from 1 to 36. Then, those four scores are averaged together to calculate your composite score.
For the SAT, superscoring involves taking the sum of your highest Math and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores.
Your superscore could be quite important, since many schools require a certain minimum composite score in order to grant entry. It might also become important in the scholarship application process. Sometimes, when students take these tests more than once, they might do better on one section the first time and better on a different section the second time around. Superscoring helps to “even out” your performance and give you the best case scenario.
If your chosen school does use superscores to make their decisions, it might help relieve you of anxieties and doubts. In some cases, you can also save time; instead of re-taking the test over and over again, hoping to improve your total score, you might be able to relax after just improving your score on a specific section.
Keep in mind that not all colleges utilize superscores, and there could be other reasons to re-take the tests, so if you have questions, let’s discuss your specific situation. Sometimes it’s worth a bit of research to discover whether you’re applying to schools that use superscores. If you’re curious about it or wish to know which schools use superscoring, give us a call and schedule an appointment.