Yes, you can delete ACT scores; no, you shouldnt just keep taking the test

After my recent post discussing  why its not a good idea to treat real SATs or ACTs  like practice runs, a tutor  wrote to ask me to weigh in on  the ACTs score-deletion option and its effect on the test-prep process.  In truth, I probably should have covered it in my earlier  post, but since I didnt (mea culpa!), Im going to discuss it here.   So first, for those of you who arent familiar with ACT scoring policy, the ACT  takes the concept of score choice to a level beyond that of the SAT. Most colleges  will allow you to select which set(s) of scores you want to send, but a few holdouts including several Ivy League schools still require you to send all of your scores. If you take the SAT, you do in fact need to send  everything; however, if you take the ACT, theres still a back door into score choice.   Basically, the ACT has a policy that allows test-takers to permanently remove a score from their record, provided that it was obtained from a paid registration (that is, not state or district-mandated testing) has not yet been sent to any colleges. All you need to do is submit a written request to the ACT (see  here; click on Scores, then scroll down to How do I delete a test-day record?), and  your scores will be permanently expunged.   Obviously, this policy has some major benefits, most notably the fact that you can actually see your scores before deciding whether to delete them. If you walk out of the test thinking you nailed it and then discover that  wasnt quite the case when you get your score report a few weeks later, you wont have to worry about colleges ever seeing them.  In contrast, if you want to delete your SAT scores, you must do so without knowing what they are. (The  College Board gives test-takers until 11:59pm on the Wednesday following the test to decide whether they want to cancel their scores.) In theory, this sounds like a great deal. Take the test, see how you do, and if you dont like the results, all youve lost is your registration fee. If you want, you can sign up the next month and do it again. And if that doesnt work, you can sign up the following month and do it again. And again. And again. And again. Are you starting to see how this could be a problem? To be clear, I am by no means suggesting that there arent situations in which this policy can really come  in handy. For example, if  your practice test scores are inconsistent/borderline and you really,  really want to get the test over with, then yes, you can go ahead and sign up without worrying that taking the risk will  ruin you. Ive had students in that situation who were unsure about whether they should take the test in a particular month or wait until the next administration, but they were close enough that the ACTs policy made it worth it for them try. In their cases, it paid off. Likewise, there are students who seriously overestimate their abilities, sign up for the test before theyre ready, and then get a very rude awakening. If these students later buckle down and end up raising their scores significantly, they wont run the risk of having one bad decision influence their admissions prospects. Those are best-case scenarios. The worst-case scenario looks like the first ACT student I ever tutored. She had taken the test seven yes, seven times before I started working with her, in the spring of her junior year. Why had she taken the test seven times? Because, she had been told, she could just keep deleting the scores. Did I mention she attended one of New York Citys top prep schools and was stuck at around a 21? As I discussed in my other post a few days back, repeated test-taking is also not a good idea from a psychological perspective. First most students will inevitably start to get discouraged when their scores remain flat from test to test. If they do eventually end up in the hands of a capable tutor, the mental stumbling blocks can pose just as big a problem as the content-based ones. I speak from experience here: for a number of my second-round students, half the game just involved convincing  them that yes, they were actually capable of improving. It was some of the most nerve-wracking tutoring I ever did. The kids were on edge, the parents were on edge and  begging the kids to give it one more  real go, and both of them just wanted the whole thing to be over with already. Theres also  the fact that students who know they can always sit for a test again  tend to take each individual administration less seriously than they otherwise would. Why bother, if theres always another chance? The result is that a process that could be gotten over with quickly ends up taking months longer than necessary.  It also reinforces an attitude that is not particularly helpful for  college, or life for that matter. College professors and bosses dont necessarily  accept re-takes, even when the stakes are high. Its generally better to treat things as if they count the first time around.  Ã‚   Then theres the unfortunately reality that scores tend to stay more or less stable after the third test. A couple of months back, I ran across a horrible article in which a supposed test-prep expert talked about how wealthy students were gaming the college admissions process by taking standardized tests over and over again, and getting tutored in between, until they hit their target scores. The truth, however, is that while students may occasionally hit their goals after, say, test #5, those  with  the savviest parents  (or  the savviest tutors) rarely take the test for real more than three times, four at absolute most. These students still take plenty of tests, but theyre more likely to pay for private proctored practice tests, which allow them to work out the kinks before going in for the real thing. They have people  making sure they take the process seriously, and that they  try their hardest when it counts. Part of the reason that realistic adult guidance is important here, especially for lower-scoring students, is that there tends to be a correlation between students scores and their capacity to self-evaluate.  From what  lve observed, lower-scoring students are more likely to overestimate their abilities, and to underestimate the amount of work necessary to improve. They are also more likely to fall prey to the maybe Ill luck out and do really well this time mentality. Unfortunately, it doesnt really work that way. For students in this category, total score choice is a curse in disguise; it gives them an excuse not to have to confront their weaknesses and allows them to indulge in wishful thinking. (Ive  witnessed this phenomenon in action as well, and it can be very difficult, if not impossible,  to counteract.) My other concern  about over-relying on score choice is strictly practical. It is very easy to intend to cancel a  scores but then never actually get around to doing so. People get busy, they procrastinate, they forget These things just have  a way of happening. If youre not careful, you could easily end up unintentionally sending a score that you should have asked the ACT to delete months ago.   So the bottom line is that if  you want to take advantage of the ACTs score choice policy to and try to  get the test over with early, thats  certainly  fair.   Under almost  no circumstances, however, would I  recommend that someone  sign up for the real test without taking at least one practice test first. Buy the Red Book (or if you dont want to buy it, sit with it in the bookstore), block off a couple of hours, and see how you do. If youre scoring in or close to your target range right off the bat, its probably worth a shot, even  its early in the year; theres no sense in prolonging things unnecessarily.   But  make no mistake: although ACT-style score choice can be a boon in the right situation, it is not  the solution to all your test-prep woes. You still have to put in the time and study, and you still have to take the process seriously. Eventually,  one more time runs out, and you have to accept where you are. Its up to you to use the time you have  to your own best advantage.