Our test prep outcomes.
Percentage to Perfect
Our students have outstanding outcomes. Let’s analyze the data together.
What is percentage to perfect?
Percentage to percent = score increase / total possible score increase
ACT Example
A student scores a 20 on an ACT diagnostic exam. The exam is out of 36 points on the ACT. The distance to perfect is 16 points. The students improves their score to 28 (+8 points). This 8 point increase out of 16 points to perfect means they improved their score 50% or halfway to perfect.
SAT Example
A student scores a 1000 on an SAT diagnostic exam. The exam is out of 1600 points on the SAT. The distance to perfect is 600 points. The students improves their score to 1300 (+300 points) This 300 point increase out of 600 points to perfect means they improved their score 50% or halfway to perfect.
Why emphasize percentage to perfect?
Average points score increases are distorted based on a student’s diagnostic exam. A student with a 32 out of 36 diagnostic on the ACT has no chance of improving their score more than 4 points. Improving two or three points at the high end of the scale is challenging and impactful on admission decisions at highly competitive universities. A student with a diagnostic of 20 out of 36 is expected to increase their score more than two or three points. Percentage to perfect can better estimate a student’s test prep score increase given their diagnostic score.
Percentage to Perfect - a scaled measurement
A good test prep outcome is halfway to perfect, which almost all of our students achieve. About a third of our students meet or exceed 75% of the way to perfect. Below are tables showing what final scores result from different diagnostic scores for halfway to perfect or 75% of the way to perfect.
Case Study: ACT scores
Here are the results of our ACT students from 2024.
Let’s compare student 1 and student 7 to see why percent to perfect is a more apt comparison.
Student 1: diagnostic exam: 31. Final ACT results: 34. +3 points.
Student 7: diagnostic exam: 13. Final ACT results: 27. +14 points
Comparing raw score increase suggests student 7 improved much more.
Student 1: diagnostic exam: 31. Missing 5 points. +3 points. 60% to perfect
Student 7: diagnostic exam: 13. Missing 23 points. +13 points. 57% to perfect.
Percentage to perfect indicates similar outcomes for both students.
