High school students in Wisconsin and across the U.S. may see updated ACT scores after the testing company found a scoring issue tied to this spring’s online exam. ACT said the problem affects students who took the test during school-day testing, and revised scores will not be lower than the results already released.
The company notified district test coordinators on May 13 that it would remove or reissue scores for affected students. In most cases, composite and section scores will stay the same or rise slightly after the correction, based on each student’s performance.
What ACT said went wrong
ACT said the issue came from a scoring process problem, not from student answers or test-taking conditions. Juan Elizondo, an ACT spokesperson, said the company removed the affected scores from MyACT profiles on May 13 and planned to update them by June 2.
ACT also said it will resend the corrected scores to colleges, universities, and scholarship organizations that students selected. The company said the revised results will not be lower than what students already received, which means the changes should not hurt any student’s reported score.
The company’s estimate shows that most students will see no change or only a small increase. For Reading, 95% of scores are expected to stay the same or rise by 1 point, while 5% may rise by 2 points.
Science scores are expected to stay the same or increase by 1 point for 99% of students, with 1% increasing by 2 points. Math scores are projected to stay the same or rise by 1 point for 97% of students, while 3% may increase by 2 points.
English scores are expected to stay the same or rise by 1 point for 98% of students, with 2% increasing by 2 points. ACT said the majority of affected students nationwide are juniors or younger.
Impact in Wisconsin schools
Wisconsin education officials said the issue has created serious concern because the ACT remains a major part of the state’s testing system. State Superintendent Jill Underly said she had “extreme disappointment” with this year’s statewide ACT administration and scoring problems.
In a letter to ACT’s CEO, Underly said the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction plans “to begin the process of engaging contract penalties to offset the hardship your scoring issues have caused.” She did not explain what those penalties might be.
Milwaukee Public Schools may be among the districts affected, according to district spokesperson Anthony Tagliavia. MPS told students and families about the issue in an email on May 18.
Underly also said local education leaders have reported that the combination of ACT policy changes and the scoring problem is making Wisconsin’s scores fall in “a seemingly arbitrary and inconsistent fashion.” The state still uses ACT results in accountability systems and to measure college readiness, even though the Universities of Wisconsin no longer require ACT or SAT scores for admission.
Why the timing matters in Wisconsin
Wisconsin law requires every 11th grader to take the ACT, which makes the test especially important in the state. More than 92% of eligible students, or nearly 59,000 high schoolers, took the ACT in Wisconsin last school year, according to the latest state data.
Underly said students still depend on the exam for college applications and financial awards. That keeps the score correction relevant even in places where the test is no longer required for admission, because the results still carry weight in scholarships and school accountability.
A larger testing change is also in play
The scoring issue comes after ACT removed the science portion from its core composite score calculation. That change made the science section optional for students, and it took effect for online testing last year and school-day testing this spring.
Wisconsin officials argued that the combination of that policy shift and the scoring problem has added confusion for students, schools, and districts. Underly said the way the changes were rolled out has created “confusion and frustration” across the state.
For now, ACT says affected students should see corrected results in their MyACT accounts by June 2, with the updated scores also sent to colleges and scholarship groups already listed by the student. The company’s public estimates indicate that the corrections should only maintain or improve scores, but the disruption has already raised questions about how the test was administered and scored for students in Wisconsin and elsewhere.
