Superscoring: What Do the Data Say?
Student retesting patterns have shifted over time, and more students applying to college have taken the ACT multiple times. This shift has an impact on higher education: Which scores should be used in the college admission decision process—the scores from the most recently taken test or the highest scores from each individual exam from across multiple tests? And, if scores across multiple tests are used, what are the implications for the validity and fairness of the standardized test scores? The latest research by the ACT provided an opportunity to explore the issue of how predictive of success the ACT test is for students who submit multiple score results.
Different colleges and universities use different policies for students who submit multiple sets of test scores. Some prefer the most recent test scores, while others use the highest test results from across all testing attempts. A number of schools calculate the average across all ACT tests; others calculate a “superscore” by averaging the highest ACT subject score for each of the four sections—math, science, reading and English—from all test attempts to compute a new ACT composite superscore.
ACT has typically used students’ most recent scores for reporting and research purposes. This practice has been grounded in the rationale that the most recent results would be the most predictive of actual college performance since they reflect the student’s most recent level of academic achievement. Also, the notion of using superscores has raised concerns about potentially increasing measurement error, which might result in an overestimation of true achievement.
ACT decided to conduct research to help address these concerns and prove or disprove existing theories. And the results were surprising! They compared four common scoring methods (last, highest, average, and superscore) against the accuracy of first-year college GPA predictions. The results: While all methods proved to be similarly predictive, the superscoring method was superior in terms of prediction accuracy.
They found that students who retest on the ACT perform better than expected in college based on their test scores for all four scoring methods; however, the prediction error was minimized when superscores were used compared to the other three scoring methods.
If the concerns about superscoring were correct, superscores would predict higher grades in college than what students actually earned. And that “overprediction” would increase the more times students retested. The results of the study, however, showed exactly the opposite. ACT dug deeper. In particular, they wanted to see if there may be unintended consequences associated with superscoring despite the strong validity evidence.
Previous research indicated that underserved students are less likely than their peers to take the ACT more than once. So, ACT conducted a second study exploring the impact of superscoring on students in different subgroups. The results are very promising. Subgroups are largely unaffected by superscoring. Moreover, superscores help decrease differences between different subgroups of students after taking into account the number of times tested.
What does this mean? It means that if underserved students can be encouraged to take the ACT more often, superscoring may help reduce subgroup differences. If so, college opportunities and access may improve for traditionally underserved students.
ACT offers fee waivers for low-income students to take the test for free up to two times. They also provide those students free access to ACT’s paid test preparation programs, ACT Online Prep and ACT Rapid Review. If more underserved students are made aware of these opportunities, perhaps more of them will take the test more than once and benefit when they apply to colleges.
In short, ACT empirically evaluated the validity and fairness of different score-use policies. Based on the findings, they now support the use of superscoring in making college admissions decisions. That said, they believe that individual postsecondary institutions should decide which score-use policy is best for them, as they have unique needs and contexts within which the scores are being used. As colleges and universities go about the process of reviewing the existing score-use policy on their campuses, it is ACT’s hope that their latest research can serve as one source of evidence contributing to those conversations.
________________________________________________________________
2019-2020 MOCK ACT/SAT TEST DATES
These tests are taken in a group setting to simulate the testing environment, and VHES will provide all materials, including the test booklet, essay booklet, answer sheet, testing timer, pencils, and a test proctor. Parents receive a nine-page detailed diagnostic report that reveals strengths and weaknesses.
View sample ACT/SAT diagnostic reports:
Northern VA/DC - ACT / SAT
Richmond VA - ACT / SAT
Charlotte NC - ACT / SAT
The registration fee is $25 per test. For students taking both the ACT and SAT, we will review the scores to see which test they are scoring higher on, using our score concordance chart to make a test recommendation. Since all colleges and universities accept both tests, it's beneficial to know if your child is scoring higher on the ACT or SAT.
Testing Dates and Locations:
VIENNA, VA AREA:
Vienna, VA
Wesley United Methodist Church
711 Spring Street, SE
Vienna, VA 22180
Click here to register for a mock ACT/SAT or click on a specific test date below.
ACT - 7/27/2019, 10/12/2019, 1/18/2020, 3/7/2020, 5/16/2020
SAT - 8/3/2019, 9/28/2019, 11/30/2019, 2/15/2020, 5/23/2020
WARRENTON, VA AREA:
Warrenton, VA
4263 Aiken Dr. Ste 102
Warrenton, Va. 20187
Click here to register for a mock ACT/SAT or click on a specific test date below.
ACT - 7/20/2019, 9/28/2019, 11/9/2019, 1/11/2020, 3/21/2020, 5/9/2020
SAT - 7/27/2019, 9/21/2019, 11/16/2019, 1/25/2020, 3/7/2020, 5/16/2020
RICHMOND, VA AREA:
Richmond, VA
Richmond Community Church
11801 Nuckols Road
Glen Allen, VA 23059
Click here to register for a mock ACT/SAT or click on a specific test date below.
ACT - 7/27/2019, 10/12/2019, 1/18/2020, 3/7/2020, 5/16/2020
SAT - 8/3/2019, 9/28/2019, 11/30/2019, 2/15/2020, 5/23/2020
CHARLOTTE, NC AREA:
Charlotte, NC
VHES
15720 Brixham Hill Avenue
Charlotte, NC 28277
Click here to register for a mock ACT/SAT or click on a specific test date below.
ACT - 7/20/2019, 9/28/2019, 11/9/2019, 1/11/2020, 3/21/2020, 5/9/2020
SAT - 7/27/2019, 9/21/2019, 11/16/2019, 1/25/2020, 3/7/2020, 5/16/2020
RALEIGH NC AREA:
ACT - TBA
SAT - TBA
We also offer one-to-one mock testing at our offices. This consists of a full-length practice test for your child. Tests include: ACT, SAT, PSAT, SSAT, ISEE, HSPT, and SAT Subject Tests. We provide the test booklet, essay booklet, answer sheet, testing timer, calculator, and pencils.
We can send parents a practice test as well, to administer to their student in-home. We will send out a free practice test packet along with proctoring instructions. Parents must send the answer sheet back to us via email or mail.