So your student has just taken the test “cold” and has a baseline score. Odds are they’re a junior, have a 3.5+ GPA, and are shocked to see that initial score (commonly 20-25 range). Surely they can do better, but how likely are they to do so? What is realistic? How much of a difference can preparation and coaching make? To answer those questions let’s take a look at some data from ACT Inc. as well as a breakdown of results I’ve seen in my ACT prep program.
According to a study from ACT Inc., students first testing as juniors demonstrated an average composite score increase of 1.1 points by their final test. Students taking their first and last tests as seniors gained only .6 points on average.
Source: https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/5195-Multiple-Testers.pdf
In order to explore first-to-second ACT Composite score gains, a web-based application was created by ACT Inc. to depict expected gains associated with levels of student academic and testing characteristics. I’ve included 3 common scenarios of above average students who enter my 6-8 week ACT prep program. You can see the different parameters selected in the images below. The application estimates that nearly 50% of students who last took the test as a junior experience no score gain and around 15% experience a gain of 3 or more points. What these estimates suggest is that testing again is a wise decision as there’s a 50/50 chance you’ll improve. It also suggests that on average it would be quite difficult to make a significant leap of 3 or more points.
Source: https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/R1813-should-students-retest-2020-03.pdf
Comparatively, data over the life of my 6-8 week programs shows the following results:
These statistics include all starting score levels and only count the performance of students that participated in at least a 6-8 week program, attended all lessons, and completed all tasks/practice tests with integrity (to the best of my knowledge). These results show that the likelihood of a score increase via preparation in my program is vastly higher (96%) and a significant leap of 3 or more points improves immensely to (73%). With an average composite score gain of 3.86 points vs 1/2 point to 1 point, preparation in my program not only increases likelihood of improvement but also magnitude.
When it comes to retaking the ACT, it is certainly worth the investment of time and effort as the likelihood of improvement is relatively favorable. That said, expectations should be tempered without a supplemental training program such as the one that I offer at Transform Tutoring.