Scoring the
Practice Tests
How to Score the
Multiple-Choice Tests
Follow the instructions below and on the following pages
to score your practice multiple-choice tests and review your
performance.
Raw Scores
The number of questions you answered correctly on each
test and in each reporting category is your raw score.
Because there are many forms of the ACT, each with
different questions, some forms will be slightly easier (and
some slightly harder) than others. A raw score of 67 on
one form of the English test, for example, may be about as
difficult to earn as a raw score of 70 on another form of that
test.
To compute your raw scores, check your answers with the
scoring information on pages 11–13. Count the number of
correct answers for each of the four tests and seventeen
reporting categories and enter the number in the blanks
provided on those pages. These numbers are your raw
scores on the tests and reporting categories.
Scale Scores
To adjust for the small differences that occur among
different forms of the ACT, the raw scores for tests are
converted into
scale scores.
Scale scores are printed on
the reports sent to you and your college and scholarship
choices.
When your raw scores are converted into scale scores, it
becomes possible to compare your scores with those of
examinees who took different test forms. For example, a
scale score of 26 on the English test has the same meaning
regardless of the form of the ACT on which it is based.
To determine the scale scores corresponding to your
raw scores on the practice test, use the table explaining
procedures used to obtain scale scores from raw scores on
page 14. This table shows the raw-to-scale score conversions
for each test. Because each form of the ACT is unique,
each form has somewhat different conversion tables.
Consequently, this table provides only approximations of the
raw-to-scale score conversions that would apply if a different
form of the ACT were taken. Therefore, the scale scores
obtained from the practice tests don’t match precisely the
scale scores received from an actual administration of the
ACT.
Computing the Composite Score
The Composite score is the average of the four scale scores
in English, mathematics, reading, and science. If you did
not take a practice test for each of these subjects, do not
calculate a Composite score. If you take the ACT with
writing, your writing results do not affect your Composite
score.
Comparing Your Scores
Information about comparing your scores on the practice
multiple-choice tests with the scores of recent high school
graduates who took the ACT can be found at
www.actstudent.org
.
Your scores and percent are only
estimates
of the scores
that you will receive during an actual administration of
the ACT. Test scores are only one indicator of your level
of learning. Consider your scores in connection with your
grades, your performance in outside activities, and your
career interests.
ACT College and Career Readiness Standards
The ACT College and Career Readiness Standards describe
the types of skills, strategies, and understandings you will
need to make a successful transition from high school to
college. For English, mathematics, reading, and science,
standards are provided for six score ranges that reflect
the progression andcomplexity of the skills in each of the
academic areas measured by the ACT tests. Forwriting,
standards are provided for five score ranges. The ACT
College and Career Readiness Standards and benchmark
scores for each test can be found at
www.act.org
.
Reviewing Your Performance on
the Practice Multiple-Choice Tests
Consider the following as you review your scores:
y Did you run out of time? Reread the information in
Preparing for the ACT
®
Test
on pacing yourself. (This
is found under Test Prep at
www.actstudent.org
.)
You may need to adjust the way you use your time in
responding to the questions.
y Did you spend too much time trying to understand the
directions for the tests? The directions for the practice
tests are the same directions that will appear in your test
booklet on test day. Make sure you understand them
before test day.
y Review the questions that you missed. Did you
select a response that was an incomplete answer or
that did not directly respond to the question being
asked? Try to figure out what you overlooked in
answering the questions.
y Did a particular type of question confuse you? Did the
questions you missed come from a particular reporting
category? In reviewing your responses, check to see
whether a particular type of question or a particular
reporting category was more difficult for you.