Despite the dream of going one and done on your admissions test of choice, ACT and SAT retakes often pay off handsomely. In fact, we’ve known for a long time just how worthwhile taking another SAT or ACT can be. In the interest of further quantifying the benefits of retakes, ACT parsed the data from students who took the ACT multiple times with the goal of improving their scores and postsecondary credentials. The October 2022 paper, Six Things You Should Know About ACT Score Gains From Retesting, drew significant conclusions:
1. Average score gains are modest (about 1 score point)
Specifically, the average time from the first to the last test was 8.3 months and the average ACT Composite score gain was 1.14.
2. Score gains increase with more time between tests
That said, ACT scores tend to increase more while students are in school and stagnate or even decline slightly during summer breaks.
3. Higher-achieving students tend to have larger score gains
According to ACT, this result is expected as the exam is designed to measure long-term learning.
4. Differences in score gains across demographic groups are small but consistent with long-standing achievement gaps
The average Composite gain from the first to the last ACT test varies by family income level. According to the data, average gains are lowest for students with family income less than $36,000 (0.85) and highest for students with family income greater than $100,000 (1.38). The average Composite gain from the first to the last ACT test also varied across racial or ethnic groups.
5. ACT scores tend to increase with additional retesting, but there are diminishing returns.
Students who retest more than once usually see additional increases in their ACT scores, but the score increases shrink with each additional test.
6. ACT Superscore gains are substantially larger than ACT Composite score gains.
This is hardly a surprise. Superscoring smooths out the volatility among different section scores from test to test.
(Based on the research, we’d like to add a 7th Thing You Should Know About ACT Score Gains.)
7. Test prep makes a difference.
ACT generously acknowledges that their research shows that average ACT score gains are higher when students engage in test prep. However, they suggest that the average effects of test prep are generally small because relatively few students engage in test prep of the duration, intensity, and quality needed to make substantial gains.
Don’t be average.
Retakes alone won’t help you reach your highest potential scores. To see substantial score improvement, take advantage of expert coaching and deliberate practice. Instead of testing many times with minimal prospects for further improvement, you can unlock massive score increases. How massive? We routinely see students who prep properly improve by 4 or more points–without having to take a ridiculous number of official exams.
What’s the proper conclusion here? Plan to retake at least once, but prep first!
Mike Bergin