What if the ACT accuses me of cheating?

Well I took the test in April, I got my test scores yesterday. I was very disappointed with my score (22), and immediately went to the library, checked out an ACT booklet, looked online and searched for the nearest test date (September). So far I’ve been immersing myself into research from the moment I wake until the moment I sleep, with very little breaks in between. I’m searching for all of the lack of techniques and lack of knowledge I have, and drilling them to perfection.

Just for some background, and it may help, I have a 3.7/4.0 and have been enrolled in honors/ap courses throughout the years. My school doesn’t have inflation because of 560 in my graduating class there are literally about 180 that probably won’t graduate… (im an upcoming senior- c/o 2016)

I did not prepare at all for the ACT, and the day that I took it was not the best for a few reasons. My mind was in the gutter, and I didn’t get enough sleep or mentally prepare myself. I was scrambling to guess on many questions because I didn’t know how to time myself correctly. I remember reading the passages but the words would not stick at all. Constantly gleaming over the same words and questions and my mind going blank. But no excuses, this time I am positive I will do a lot better

Three months seems like an awfully sweet amount of time to study, considering that it is the summer, and I have plentiful amounts of time.

If my score raises by 8-12 (which I am almost certain it will at this rate) what will happen? Will they make me take it again, or send me some kind of invalidation?

In the worst case scenario, they will offer you a retest on private testing , cancel scores, or make a statement that can help establish the validity of your score. Do your best! It’s pretty rare to see a great increase but not impossible. Don’t speculate anything until you achieve that goal.

If you thought that when you took the ACT, Why you didn’t cancel it?

in the state of Nevada, all students were required to take it on April 22nd, and also taking it is needed to graduate in my district, and maybe the entire state as well

@Rob248
Why you didn’t prepare before April 22nd?
Anyway, what’s done is done. Right now, Work hard and Study a lot.

So, let me get this straight. You did really poorly on the first ACT you took because of a variety of factors including poor sleep, no mental preparation and “blank mind”, but you expect to improve your scores by 2 or 3 standard deviations on this one and you are worried about getting charged with cheating?

@JustOneDad Yeah it sounds crazy, but I think that if I were to retake it right now with some of the new things I’ve learned about timing, a few techniques, and with adequate sleep, I’d get a much better score, and with the amount of studying I plan to put into it, I will score even higher than that. I read somewhere that they might become suspicious if your score has raised too high from the last test so I’m just curious because I am very confident that I will demolish it the next time I take it (in 3 months) lol

@Rob248 You are certain that you will increase 8-12 points? I’m not trying to be hostile, but going up 8-12 points is a stretch for anyone, even someone who didn’t study at all the first time he or she took the ACT. To get a 22 on the ACT, you have to miss about 25 English questions, 30 math questions, 15 reading questions, and 15 science questions. To get a 34 you can miss about 3 English questions, 2 or 3 math questions, 2 or 3 reading questions, and 1 or 2 science question. Basically, you missed about 10x the questions that you could have missed to get a 34, but somehow you are “almost certain” that you will be able to miss 10x fewer questions with a couple months of prep. 3 months is a long time, but honestly I think it would be a miracle if you scored a 30+ even if you studied like crazy for the next 3 months.

But, if it does happen and you score a 30+ I would not be surprised if ACT accused you of cheating. That would be an absolutely amazing increase. I’m not certain on this, but I think they would make you take a test to validate it and you would have to get a reasonably similar score on the validation test(like within 3 points probably).

Also, self prep might not be the best way to increase your score. If you can afford to take a class or get a tutor, that would probably help you tremendously. Either way though, imo increasing 8-12 is a stretch even in 3 months. Best of luck to you OP, sorry if I came off as hostile, I wasn’t trying to put you down or anything. You might want to take a real ACT test that has been released before you start practicing. Take it after a good night’s sleep and all that other stuff that you didn’t have when you took it in April. That way you can assess how far you actually have to go.

@balrog29 No it’s completely understandable, but I think on a good nights sleep I could of gotten like a 24 or 25. I tend to set my goals realistically. Chances are that I wont get a 33 (that being the top 99% percentile) but a 28-31 is not out of the question for me, I think, because I am a very motivated individual, and probably not the most intelligent, but I’ve got a good head on my shoulders.

The worst thing for me was time/pacing myself, and being sleep deprived I had to spend lots of time on the same questions because I would read them, and my mind would just go blank (this was probably a mix of anxiety as well from not preparing myself mentally or even reviewing) this especially didnt help when it came to the science section

Plus there is a lot of time… I’ve recently taught myself a quarters worth (9 weeks) of college prep math in 3 nights before. The same principle can apply to some kind of varying degree here. If I use my time correctly, and do all the right things, I think I’ll be fine. I’ve gathered many act tests, some more difficult than others, researched the techniques, and am gaining all the knowledge that I forgot or never went over. I was taking college prep math during the school year, it was lightly algebra 2 and mostly precalc/trig concepts , a whopping 4 questions of the whole math portion. so geometry, for example, (i took 9th grade - and im going to be a senior…) was familiar for me, but I couldn’t remember much at all. I just gotta sift through my old notebooks. Even algebra 1 and 2 was less iffy, but most of the things I have seen before and recognized, but just need to brush up on.

I’ve already wrote down the the requirement chart in a notebook for what you’ve said, for a 36 down to a 30 regarding how many questions for each section I can miss. I also wrote down how many questions for each topic in each category, and their general objectives. The structure of the exam, and all of that jazz. I’m constantly asking myself why I missed that question, and how I can prevent missing it again. I’m drilling my mistakes to perfection. Luckily I came across a resource that starts from the ground up, essentially showing everything down to a pulp (comma rules, apostrophe rules, and everything needed to know ranging from all subjects.) My miraculous increase is just waiting for me.

I’ve already compiled a list of 150 of the most common reading, writing, and science words of the SAT, and remembered them all. Now i’m working on applying them and recognizing them efficiently the next time I test. I familiarized myself with the most common idioms, and wrote down and studied many different strategies from those who scored exceptionally well. Also finding which of those strategies will work best for me.

I thought of it like this: instead of working 8 hours a day at some minimum wage job, I can work 8 hours a day studying the act and learning how to write winning scholarship essays through books, and things of that nature by studying smarter and harder. It would generate more than the 2,000 dollars I would have otherwise earned this summer, and I am mindful that I might be missing the experience that it may provide. But… this is a full time job to me. It’s also fun to me. I’m not saying all these things to brag or boast, I’m just saying that I have good faith that I can do this due to extenuating factors, and the drive that I have. I also understand where you are coming from because it sounds ridiculous without context

Deep breaths.

You didn’t cheat, right?

Why spit in the wind? Don’t anticipate trouble that hasn’t happened.

If they do suspect that you cheated, you retake the test. You would presumably do fairly well again.

Cheating shouldn’t worry you before you actually get your score (and I also haven’t worried about being accused of cheating). I improved from a 24 to a 35 (I wasn’t feeling well on the first day), and it’s been over a year since the test, with no accusations of cheating. If your score jumps like mine, they conduct a thorough investigation and will only accuse you if they have (two?) pieces of “solid” evidence, so don’t worry about it. As for the score jump, the only way your score will leap is if you really didn’t feel well the first time and you actually studied and practiced taking tests. I don’t want to discourage you, but jumping 8-12 points in 3 months is highly unlikely.

Frankly, if you have issues with feeling rushed and timing you may want to consider taking the SAT.

@Balrog29 - Actually I can believe his story about the bad score because of not feeling well.

OP- I would take the SAT just in case your score ACT is so much higher that they flag it. There was a poster earlier this year where the college board wouldn’t validate a students second SAT score so he used the ACT instead.

Why don’t you just take an ACT practice test in order to confirm your score increase theory?

Yeah take an ACT practice test but on the same conditions as the real one.

@Rob248
I applaud your dedication to studying for the ACT.

Scores that move 8 points are subject to quality review. The test may be selected for audit. To move your composite score by 8 points you need to improve by 32 points in some combination of the section scores. Not impossible if you are starting out at a 22, but not easy either.

My advice is to save all of your practice materials.

A full practice test every two weeks under test conditions will help measure your progress. It can be very encouraging to see the improvements you are making.

Good luck!

^^ It’s @Rob248 if you were counting on that to tickle the OP’s account.

Don’t worry. They won’t. If they do, just explain it to them (mail them a letter or sthg).