Breaking Down the ACT Score Data from the Official 2018 National and Georgia Score Reports

When we’re preparing students for the ACT, we always tell them that the ACT English section needs to carry the weight for the ACT Math section because it’s objectively as hard to get a 29 on the Math section as a 34-36 on the English section. There are a multitude of reasons for this. First, there are roughly 40 key grammar rules versus 600+ possible math concepts that need to be learned/memorized, as they can be combined in any number of creative ways to create math problems. Thus, it requires many more math practice tests to achieve the fluency and speed needed at the highest level of the math curve. Second, English is the easiest section to complete within the time restrictions; many students don’t finish the math section. We often get skeptical looks when we tell parents about this English/Math chasm.

The ACT just released its comprehensive National and State-by-State report for the Class of 2018, and as you’ll see in the image below, it’s not a mirage. Our data shows it, and we see it and live it, as the only tutors in the state who take the test each year (or ever). The Georgia snapshot below shows just how over-represented high ACT English scores are relative to high ACT Math scores and matches up with our data and the data seen by our full-time professional tutoring colleagues in Boston, DC and elsewhere. For example, a top 7% English score in Georgia was 33, whereas the same top 7% score on Math in Georgia would be a 29 — 4 points lower! The exact same English/Math chasm can be seen for Reading and Science, whereby top Reading scores are much more common than top Science scores. Oftentimes we will see a student who perceives himself/herself as a “math/science kid” surprised that Math and Science were the lowest two sections on an initial ACT mock test. Knowing that those two sections have far fewer top scorers period, and that it’s difficult to finish those two sections without meaningful practice, should be illuminating.

Strategic impact for students applying to UGA:
Since UGA utilizes just the ACT’s English and Math sections in its admissions review, that means that most savvy UGA applicants should focus on getting an eye-popping score on English and a “good enough” score on math. Roughly 90% of our 3,000+ students admitted to UGA over the past decade have had an English section score that is at least 5+ points higher than the Math score for that reason. We’ll see 20-30 perfect 36’s on English for every one perfect 36 on Math.

National snapshot for the 1.9 million ACT tests taken by the Class of 2018:

Georgia snapshot for the 56,000 ACT tests taken in Georgia by the Class of 2018:

This issue isn’t a Georgia-specific issue, but a national one. If you want to “nerd out” with the data, here are some detailed links:

Data Sources:
1. National report, Class of 2018
2. Georgia state-level report, Class of 2018

Questions? Email us at edison@edisonprep.com.