@parent1973: Could it be that these results - if consistent across several test dates - accurately reflect your DD’s strengths and likelihood of success in college? In that case, might it be appropriate to accept these scores as adequate and plan accordingly? Just a thought…
@leprofessional: yes, it could but she is a very good student and does well in math so it may just be how she does on math in a standardized test environment. But as a kid who could reach higher given grades etc, it is certainly a disappointment for her.
@parent1973 We were in your situation a couple of years ago. Very good math student but for whatever reason when it came to the tests just stressed or seemed to freeze. It was a disappoint for awhile. Ours did find a perfect home and is happy. It all does work out. However, I feel for you and your daughter because we know how that feels. Have faith that it will all workout in the end! Best wishes.
My DD was an honors student in HS, top 5% of the class, excellent grades all around. She had a little over 700 on the math section of the SAT but couldn’t crack 600 on the Cr section. She majored in engineering. Her total was about 1230 on both sections.
DS had over 730 on the CR but never got close to that on the math. He majored in music. His total was about 1350 on both sections.
Both were accepted to the colleges they chose.
You know…there is a long list of test optional schools that is growing. Check those…fairtest.org.
My D got 36 and 35 on the English and reading sections of the ACT. But 26 on math. Even on practice tests she never scored higher than 27. But that’s the type of math student she was good but not great. All her AP classes, EC’s and potential majors clearly showed her as a humanities kid.
She got into 8/9 schools (only rejected from an ivy) and is now at a top 20 school, where she is putting off taking a required math class!
It depends on which “good school” you are considering. In general highly selective colleges with a holistic focus also take a holistic approach to considering test scores. The score will have more impact if it is the consistent with the rest of the application and less impact if it is inconsistent with the rest of the application. For example, it’s likely to be a problem if a prospective engineering major has a unimpressive math/science ACT, corresponding math/science achievement tests, gets B’s in math/science, has unimpressive math/science LOR, lacks math/science related ECs, etc. However, a 28/29 math science is far less likely to be a problem for a prospective English major who managed to get A’s in math/science up to AP level and has nothing else in the application to suggest there could be an issue with the few math/science classes she’ll take besides the single test score.
For example, when I was a high school student (not recent), I always got perfect scores on standardized tests related to math, science, or similar including the math SAT and achievement tests. However, I only scored a 500 on the verbal SAT, mostly due to vocabulary issues. I assume the colleges I applied to recognized that the 800 in math and science was more relevant for a prospective engineer than was the lower verbal score, as I was accepted to Stanford, MIT, and Ivies. My verbal score was among the bottom ~6 students in my class at the college I attended.
Regarding why the score plateaus, there are countless possibilities. It would help to have more detail about what types of questions she is missing or whether it relates to external issues such as running out of time, getting distracted/losing focus, having anxiety, etc.
The OP mentioned English and reading were “almost perfect,” Highly selective colleges obviously are not the right choice for many students, but neither is limiting to just colleges for “ACT 29 students.”
Thanks—this sounds like my DD…appreciate the info