Preston Williams test score flagged by NCAA

Students earn 1 point for each correct answer and neither lose nor gain points for each omitted or incorrect answer.
A student’s raw score for a section is calculated by determining the number of questions answered correctly in that section. Example: If a student answered 60 questions correctly in the English section, his English raw score would be 60.
A student’s raw score for a section is converted to a scaled score, which ranges between a 1 and a 36, with 36 being the highest possible score. Students receive a scaled score for each of the four multiple-choice test sections (English, Math, Reading, and Science).
A student’s composite ACT score is the average of the student’s scaled scores for the four multiple-choice test sections. Example: If a student scored a 24 English, 28 Math, 26 Reading, and 23 Science, his composite ACT score would be (24 + 28 + 26 + 23)/4 = 25.25, which is rounded down to a 25.
 
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Per hubbs posted in the recruiting forum

Important info especially considering the moaning about the NCAA waiting until now


Originally Posted by :
The test has been flagged. Apparently this didn't happen yesterday. So Williams has been preparing to retake the test. He's not being sent home. But he won't practice until the eligibility concern is cleared up.
 
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This has me worried, a huge jump in the score is hard to do, even with extensive tutoring. The ACT & SAT aren't like a normal test, it's like a final for all of high school. You may be asked a math question that requires a formula you learned your junior year, but to understand that formula you need to understand the parts of it, and you learned about those parts in Soph year.

For people questioning the 2 week retake and it not lining up with the official test dates. I believe the retake is just a confirmation test, if he scores close to his original score then his original is accepted. If he doesn't score close (even if it is high enough for college acceptance) then his original will be invalidated and he'll have to do an official retake in Sept and enroll for Spring classes.
 
Seriously. I hate the NCAA. Yeah, I get it, it's "suspicious."

"Well Preston, you studied hard, took the time to learn and better yourself as a person, but we here at the NCAA, here in the 11th hour before the season have decided to punish you for your success. Because, well just because. Also if you marginally pass or have a bad testing day and don't get close to your score again, we're revoking your eligibility and taking your dreams away."

So correct me if I'm wrong, but that's what these stupid MFers are basically telling this young man?

That's sure what it sounds like to me. If it can be proven that the person themselves took the test, and the NCAA flags the score then they should be sued for doing crap like this. Somebody should flat sue their a$$es off.
 
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If he cheated, he cheated. What is the percentage jump that it takes to get flagged anyways? I'm sure that it's based on statistical significance. I think the bigger issue is that UT must have had the same information. Hopefully this isn't a Derrick Rose situation.

It's my understanding that the ACT will automatically red flag a score with a composite improvement of 6 points or more in a 20 month period. That's the ACT though, not the NCAA clearinghouse. I would assume they are the same but I don't know for sure. You are making way too much of a jump with the concerns of cheating though. The Derrick Rose situation involved him not only making substantial improvement but changing testing cities from his hometown in Chicago to Detroit and some other irregularities.
 
This has me worried, a huge jump in the score is hard to do, even with extensive tutoring. The ACT & SAT aren't like a normal test, it's like a final for all of high school. You may be asked a math question that requires a formula you learned your junior year, but to understand that formula you need to understand the parts of it, and you learned about those parts in Soph year.


For people questioning the 2 week retake and it not lining up with the official test dates. I believe the retake is just a confirmation test, if he scores close to his original score then his original is accepted. If he doesn't score close (even if it is high enough for college acceptance) then his original will be invalidated and he'll have to do an official retake in Sept and enroll for Spring classes.

A huge jump may or may not be difficult as there are many factors involved. For instance someone scores a 25 and retakes it two months later and scores a 31 that would be a huge and difficult jump. Someone takes it scores a 17 and retakes it 6 months later after studying and scores a 23 again huge jump, but not as difficult given the low first score and elapsed time between tests.
 
To my knowledge the clearinghouse only accepts test taken on national testing dates which would be sept 12th

I hope there are exceptions with this situation

My goodness. You still have your own version of reality. It's been repeated several time, Preston will be re-taking the test in 2 weeks. Probably because he is being forced to re-take it and it's not a case where a high school student is scheduling the test. Not real difficult to understand.
 
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I agree with you...does make no sense if he didn't' cheat but just had a really good testing day...but the NCAA has some ridiculous rules and this happens to be one of them.

It's always been my understanding, right or wrong, that the way the standardized ACT test is designed, is that you can't make more than a 3 point or so jump from test to test and any deviation above this pretty much indicts the test taker as having achieved that score nefariously. Anybody able to shed some light on this??
 
My goodness. You still have your own version of reality. It's been repeated several time, Preston will be re-taking the test in 2 weeks. Probably because he is being forced to re-take it and it's not a case where a high school student is scheduling the test. Not real difficult to understand.

Actually it's says the date to retake it will be SET in the next two weeks. That could mean the day he takes the test will be in September but that he will be scheduled to take that particular test within the next two weeks. I'd wait for someone to clarify that before jumping on someone.
 
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It's always been my understanding, right or wrong, that the way the standardized ACT test is designed, is that you can't make more than a 3 point or so jump from test to test and any deviation above this pretty much indicts the test taker as having achieved that score nefariously. Anybody able to shed some light on this??

I mean, who's to say that he did not treat the first time he took it like a pre-ACT test? He could've been very clever about it and just went in to the first test taking without studying so that he could gauge how hard the test would be for his next official go-round.
 
It's always been my understanding, right or wrong, that the way the standardized ACT test is designed, is that you can't make more than a 3 point or so jump from test to test and any deviation above this pretty much indicts the test taker as having achieved that score nefariously. Anybody able to shed some light on this??

I'm unaware of any inherent design in the ACT which makes scoring on a second attempt above a standard deviation anomalous compared to the first attempt. Many of my daughter's friend took it without any preparation to attain a "baseline". Scores in the high teens were common. Most of them jumped to mid 20s after prep on the second testing.
 
As some have already mentioned:

An ACT sum score is calculated by adding English, math, reading and science subscores. You may take the SAT or ACT an unlimited number of times before you enroll full-time in college. If you take either test more than once, the best sub score from different tests are used to meet initial eligibility requirements.
Test scores | NCAA.org - The Official Site of the NCAA
 
Actually it's says the date to retake it will be SET in the next two weeks. That could mean the day he takes the test will be in September but that he will be scheduled to take that particular test within the next two weeks. I'd wait for someone to clarify that before jumping in someone.

Yea having a date set in two weeks doesn't necessilarly mean taking it in two weeks

Hope it does but I agree we need to wait for more info on that
 
It's always been my understanding, right or wrong, that the way the standardized ACT test is designed, is that you can't make more than a 3 point or so jump from test to test and any deviation above this pretty much indicts the test taker as having achieved that score nefariously. Anybody able to shed some light on this??

How so? It's still a multiple choice test.
 
A guy on my HS football team had offers to play at several schools. The problem: he scored a 17 on his ACT twice and at the time an 18 was required atthe schools he wanted to go to. After studying very hard and foregoing basketball his Sr year to prepare for a 3rd test, he scored a 21. That's a 4-point jump in a single school semester. He went on to play for Carson-Newman.
 
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I'm unaware of any inherent design in the ACT which makes scoring on a second attempt above a standard deviation anomalous compared to the first attempt. Many of my daughter's friend took it without any preparation to attain a "baseline". Scores in the high teens were common. Most of them jumped to mid 20s after prep on the second testing.

Could be an old wives tale. I've just always heard that you can't legitimately take a 10 point jump one test to the next and that if you do, it'll raise red flags. If you go from 25 to 27, no problems....but go from 25 to 32, and the validity of your second score will be automatically questioned and "investigated"
 
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