Superscoring for the ACT or SAT in 2020? What You Need to Know

​With a new season of SAT/ACT testing and college applications, we wanted to address a common question: What is Superscoring?
To answer it directly, it's when colleges allow students to average their scores from multiple test attempts. Now this doesn’t mean you can mix and match between the SAT and ACT. Instead, if you take either the ACT or SAT test multiple times, you can mix and match sections to get your best average score.
Here's a hypothetical example: A student takes the SAT and gets a sub score of 500 on the Reading/Writing and 700 on Math. Their SAT score would be 1200. Not a bad score, but one that can be improved. Now, let's assume the next time the student takes the test, they  improve their Reading/Writing score. This time they get 700 on this section. But if they focused only on half the test, we assume their Math score dropped to 600. They still went up (1300), but it is a bummer that they did worse on a different section each time.
Here's where Superscoring comes into play. Colleges will look at both tests and take the best section scores of each. So, now the student has the 700 on Math from the first test, and the 700 on Reading/Writing from the second. A 1400 is better than either individual test and this can help you get into the more selective schools. This same process works for the four sections on the ACT as well (Reading, English, Math, and Science).  Unfortunately, at this time you need to take the full test to be able to Superscore, however, the ACT & SAT are evaluating whether or not to allow students to take only one section of the test in the future. Check out these additional Superscore FAQs from the ACT and SAT .

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​Superscoring is a great feature that all students should keep in mind this fall. What’s the catch, though? Well, here are a few things to remember:

• This is not a universal practice for colleges to accept. Many colleges will Superscore both tests, while others will only do one or neither so it's important for you to check with your school of choice. For more information check out these links:

*For ACT:      https://blog.prepscholar.com/colleges-that-superscore-act-complete-list
*For SAT:    https://blog.prepscholar.com/which-colleges-superscore-the-sat

• You don’t get to choose what is evaluated by the college. While Superscoring is a combination of multiple tests, you must send the full test every time. So, colleges still see the lower scores even if they focus on the best average of scores. While there is no direct evidence colleges look negatively at taking the SAT/ACT many times, we recommend only sending in a maximum 3 tests to your prospective college.
• Studies have shown the negative impact on students in taking multiple tests; These tests take a lot of studying time away from regular school work, it makes a long test day, and creates nervous anticipation waiting for your scores. The best course of action? Have a well defined study program and plan on achieving your top score on the first time to avoid the stress.

Have other questions about Superscoring on the SAT/ACT? Are you interested in our ACT/SAT test prep program? Please call us at 1-847-834-0791.  We look forward to helping all our students safely and effectively adjust to the new school year.

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