ACT Writing Scores

sophie9999
Sun, 31 Jul 2016 07:43:58 +0000

There has been a lot of criticism over the grading system for the new ACT writing (googling it will yield a bunch of articles about students with high composite scores and seemingly low writing scores).

A 21 places you in the 74th percentile according to this table from the September 2015 ACT. There may be a more recent table online somewhere, but I couldn’t find it quickly.
http://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/NormsChartSTEMELAWriting-Web2015-16.pdf

I’m sure college admissions officers are aware that a lot of students are scoring low on the writing section. I wouldn’t stress about it too much or retake it. A 35 composite is a fantastic score and I’m sure you have better ways to spend your time than studying for this and retaking it. College admissions officers will see your English grades as well as read your essays, which will help them infer your true writing ability. Spend the time you would have spent studying crafting a great personal statement and supplements!