Large gap between ACT scores and school grades?

Test Preparation
1

At school, I have a D+ in English, but on the ACT, I got a 33 in English and 34 in Reading.

I also have an A+ in math, but I got a 26 on that section.

What does this mean for me? How will colleges look at it? (My composite is 31)

2

What is the rigor of your courses and the circumstances of the grades in these courses?

Is the English an AP or is the teacher iffy? Is the math just a basic/lower honors course that isn’t as rigorous?

ACT is based off the standard curriculum/common core standards/rigor of the public school content so the disparity in your scores and grades may be concerning. They may ask your GC to explain the gap.

3

I’m in IB English 3 (AP Lit) and IB Pre-Calculus. I know why my English grade is bad. It’s because every test/assignment is an essay and my teacher is a hard grader. Math homework is only checked for completion, but all my test scores are As.

4

Did you get an ACT score report or did you seen what types of questions you got wrong? There’s probably some circumstance behind it. Whether your teacher is a lenient grader or not is an important factor. I recommend reviewing the basics of the math and your curriculum to get an idea of your strengths and weaknesses. You’re only in Pre-Calc so that may be a reason. Pre-Calc is on the test and you might not have a strong grasp on it yet.

5

I can think of some reasons explaining this anomaly;

*The courses being taught have little or nothing to do with the standardized test. This is probably the case.
*The courses are somewhat related to the tests, but English is far more difficult than Math

Anyways, I recommend an explanation from your guidance counselor to account for the grade-test score disparity.

No legitimate, high school level English class should fail a student who can score 33/34 on the ACT reading/English sections, in my opinion, assuming no extenuating circumstances.