How would you handle this?

[Globetrotter]

While I do agree he needs to learn coping skills, we also have to realize that there is a baseline stress with Covid19 and even kids who are normally carefree are getting stressed out over testing and college admissions. Since we don’t know the kid, it’s hard to say. These are not normal times and unfortunately these are high stakes tests. Maybe save the lessons for less critical things.

Find out if the colleges super score. I believe most will do that or take the high score, and I think it’s worth trying to scrub it from his record.

[hbridge]

If it’s what he wants, shouldn’t he try for it? He has learned to work HARD from having a disibility. If it takes him 6 years to get his degree, so be it. I agree that too much stress on our kids can be harmful but I won’t be the one to tell him not to try because he might fail.

YES!!! YES!!! YES!!! He needs to make the decisions that are right for him! I am going to PM you!!!

[Globetrotter]

YES!!! YES!!! YES!!! He needs to make the decisions that are right for him! I am going to PM you!!!

Agreed.

[JElaineB]

Most schools will look at only the higher score, and some will even super score (take the highest subscores from all test dates, and highest composite). Have him retake with accommodations in April and apply to his preferred school early. If he doesn't get in or gets waitlisted you will have plenty of time to deal with it.

[icunurse]

If it’s what he wants, shouldn’t he try for it? He has learned to work HARD from having a disibility. If it takes him 6 years to get his degree, so be it. I agree that too much stress on our kids can be harmful but I won’t be the one to tell him not to try because he might fail.

Absolutely he should try! And I truly hope that he gets his goal and succeeds. I’m just saying that if you are worried about how he will handle a bad score, maybe he needs to work on coping skills because far bigger disappointment and challenges are probably ahead for all of our children. Many of them can’t handle failure or disappointment or not succeeding and, as we all know, life doesn’t work that way. We build them up and make them achieve so highly in HS to get into a program or school that might be too much or a shock to the system. I’m concerned about all the kids who will be facing their first unassisted struggles while in college.

[gatorsmom]

So I would have told him about his test scores. Your DS will always have to deal with this for rest of his life, and the testing center messed up his accommodations. So it’s on them, and agree with pp that it is worthwhile to have that low score scrubbed from his records.

He needs to have strong coping skills in place. He’s going off to college in 6-8 months time, and you’re hiding his own score results from him? Empowering him and including his input would have been better cuz he won’t have you to advocate for him on campus during his time at college. How is that advocating for him? I’m saying this as someone who is disabled and needed accommodations for myself through my life. Just my .02 cents.


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I really see your point. Life is tough and he’s going to have to learn to face it. However, I think I agree with Globetrotter here. In this situation, it’s about strategy. I think he’ll do better on the next ACT test if he doesn’t know how he did this time. Once he gets the next scores, he can take a look at how he did in February. And actually, he’s a junior. He’s not leaving for college in 6 months. He’s taking the ACT now because he has a lot going on this summer and he wanted to build in some time to improve his score if he needs to.

I have no idea, I never took ACT and DS1 is taking SAT. But having them use a higher score for consideration means they can still see the lower score and might form speculation on how he suddenly did so much better just a few months later. Admissions is so complicated a process, I would not want my kiddo being potentially judged based on that low score (even if bettered by a higher score) or an average. If it's in the records, they can see it even if they claim they are only taking the highest score.

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I’m not exactly sure what the schools have access to but we didn’t have ACT send the February scores to any colleges because we just weren’t sure who all to send them to which I’m glad about now. But it’s true that they take the highest scores and disregard the lower ones, at least that’s what they say they do.

[KrisM]

I'm sorry he didn't get the accommodations. I have heard problems with that the past few months.

We are getting a lot of college emails and many schools will be test optional for next year's applications too. So even if he doesn't improve a lot, he may not have to submit them at all.

[gymnbomb]

I have no idea, I never took ACT and DS1 is taking SAT. But having them use a higher score for consideration means they can still see the lower score and might form speculation on how he suddenly did so much better just a few months later. Admissions is so complicated a process, I would not want my kiddo being potentially judged based on that low score (even if bettered by a higher score) or an average. If it's in the records, they can see it even if they claim they are only taking the highest score.

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I am sure things have changed a lot since I took the ACT, but back then you chose the date of the test results you wanted sent to the college and those were the only scores they got. Lots of people took them several times and didn’t give a second thought to their lower scores because no one else ever saw them. I took it 5 times because I was weird and thought it was fun. I stopped taking it after my score started going down instead of up, and sent the second to last set of scores out to schools.


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[essnce629]

Is his GPA good?

Honestly, most schools are test optional for this year and even next year already. Even if he doesn't improve his score I really don't think it will affect him getting into where he wants if he applies test optional and his GPA, class rigor, and teacher recommendations are good. Some schools were even test blind this year (like the UC schools), meaning that even if you submitted a test score they didn't take them into consideration at all. I know that several of the schools that DS1 applied to even went test blind for merit aid and went strictly off GPA when normally they would take into consideration both GPA and test scores. This actually hurt DS1 since he got a 33 on his ACT but only had an unweighted GPA of 3.55. For the majority of the schools he applied to he would have received the top merit aid amount due to his test scores in a normal year, but this year they went on his GPA which knocked him down 2 categories in the merit aid department. We're strictly chasing merit at small liberal arts colleges so this was disappointing.

[KrisM]

Is his GPA good?

Honestly, most schools are test optional for this year and even next year already. Even if he doesn't improve his score I really don't think it will affect him getting into where he wants if he applies test optional and his GPA, class rigor, and teacher recommendations are good. Some schools were even test blind this year (like the UC schools), meaning that even if you submitted a test score they didn't take them into consideration at all. I know that several of the schools that DS1 applied to even went test blind for merit aid and went strictly off GPA when normally they would take into consideration both GPA and test scores. This actually hurt DS1 since he got a 33 on his ACT but only had an unweighted GPA of 3.55. For the majority of the schools he applied to he would have received the top merit aid amount due to his test scores in a normal year, but this year they went on his GPA which knocked him down 2 categories in the merit aid department. We're strictly chasing merit at small liberal arts colleges so this was disappointing.

That is disappointing and frustrating! I hope he finds what he wants and needs. We're starting the search and hoping for merit too. It's so hard to figure it all out.