Picture this: your student brings home a report card full of A’s, then takes a practice ACT or SAT and scores well below what you expected. Or the reverse: a student with mixed grades walks out of the ACT with a score that surprises everyone.
We hear about both situations often, and they make sense. Grades and standardized test scores overlap, but they measure different things. Think of it this way: knowing how to cook is one skill, and cooking against a clock on a TV competition is another.
When the numbers don’t line up, here are three questions worth asking.
1. Is it the material or the test?
Classroom grades reflect weeks of assignments, projects, quizzes, and exams. The ACT and SAT ask for specific answers in a fixed amount of time. Knowing the material and showing it under pressure aren’t always the same skill.
2. Is one subject or skill driving the gap?
A strong English student may still find timed reading passages tough. A student who does well in math class may struggle with unfamiliar, multistep problems. Overall scores can hide these differences, so section scores and subscores may provide useful information.
3. Is something else getting in the way?
Time management, attention, reading speed, and working memory all affect test performance. A student who regularly runs out of time may understand the content but not finish. For some students, a documented disability may make accommodations worth exploring, and since approval can take time, it’s best to start early.
What you can do next
- Look at section scores, not just the total.
- Try a full-length, timed practice test to see where time or stamina becomes an issue.
- Ask your student how the test felt. Did they run out of time, or did the questions seem unfamiliar?
- Reach out to us. We’re happy to help you figure out what the numbers mean.