How is the ACT scaled?

[glowworm]

I have a problem similar to tennisball80's. I took a Cliffnotes ACT practice test and made 32% an the math, but I don't know what this equates to on the 1-36 scale. Is is just 32% of 36 ( which would mean I got a score of 11.52 ) or do they figure it differently somehow?

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[penguinophile]

I have a problem similar to tennisball80's. I took a Cliffnotes ACT practice test and made 32% an the math, but I don't know what this equates to on the 1-36 scale. Is is just 32% of 36 ( which would mean I got a score of 11.52 ) or do they figure it differently somehow?

Unfortunately there is no set way for scores to be figured out for all the tests that different test-makers write. The raw scores represent a normal distribution (just like the SAT raw scores do) and that won't be the same for every test. Each test-maker (Kaplan, PR, whatever) has a different way of writing tests and that causes people to answer differently for each company. Most high level companies have put in the $$ to get a pretty representative formula of their raw to scaled score conversions, so try one of their practice tests to get a feeling for how well you're doing.

From sparknotes explanation:

Scaled Scores
Scaled scores account for disparities among different versions of the ACT. Without scaled scores, you wouldn’t be able to compare your score on a particular test with the score that someone else received on a different test taken on a different date. One version of the test might be more difficult than another, affecting the overall raw scores received.
The makers of the ACT don’t reveal the formula used to convert raw scores into scaled scores, but we provide you with conversion charts that mimic the ACT conversion formula, so you can get an idea of your scaled performance. These conversion charts are located with the practice tests at the back of this book.