Which one should I take? Here is an infographic to answer that question:

Super scoring your SAT scores:

Super scoring is the policy by which admissions officers consider your highest section scores from any test date you took the SAT. If you take the SAT more than once, then schools that SAT super score will take your highest Critical Reading and Writing score, and highest Math score. Added together, these scores could potentially add up to a much higher total than what you get on any one sitting.

For example, say a student takes the SAT twice:

1. The first time, this student gets an 700 in Math, a 500 in Critical Reading and Writing. Composite score: 1200
2. The second time, this student gets a 650 in Math, a 680 in Critical Reading, and Writing. Composite score: 1330

Super scoring this the scores would result in the addition of the best score in Math from the first test (700), and the best score in Reading/Writing from the second test (680), summing up to a 1380 composite score.

Before super scoring: 1330 composite

After super scoring: 1380 composite

Super scoring vs. Score Choice

Score Choice allows students to choose specific test dates they want to submit to colleges. So if a student took the SAT at three different times, he or she could choose to send only one or two of those dates’ scores to a prospective college instead of all three, which many schools require. With superscoring, you can send specific scores rather than entire tests.

Like super scoring, Score Choice is also optional. If you’re interested in Score Choice, make sure your school offers it. Remember: If it is offered and students choose not to use it, all scores will be sent to a school automatically.

Super scoring your ACT scores:

The same kind of superscoring involved with the SAT goes for the ACT, only on the ACT scale. Instead of the scores being added (like in the SAT), the composite is the average of the scores, and these scores can be rounded up to the next number (.5 and up).

For example, say a student takes the ACT twice.

1. The first time, the student gets a 23 in reading, 26 in math, 28 in English, and 29 in science. Composite score: 27 (rounded up from 26.5)
2. The second time, the student gets a 22 in reading, 28 in math, 25 in English, and 32 in science. Composite score: 27 (rounded up from 26.75)

If a student wanted to superscore these tests, from two different test dates, the student would create a new score from only the best subscores, which would be:

• 23 in reading (from first test), 28 in math (from second test), 28 in English (from first test), and 32 in science (from second test), to give a student a new composite score of 28 (rounded up from 27.75).