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Evaluations (Tests) & Superscores
Evaluations (Tests) & Superscores
Michael Stephenson avatar
Written by Michael Stephenson
Updated over a week ago

Overview

Evaluations, also called Tests, are essential to managing applicant data in the Decisions module. Element451 allows you to collect, manage, and review student test scores—including automatically calculated superscores for the ACT and SAT.

Within Decisions, test scores and superscores appear as part of the application review interface, helping reviewers assess academic readiness. You can configure score thresholds and determine how scores are factored into review scoring. Superscores are especially helpful in presenting a student’s strongest performance across multiple test attempts.


Adding Test Scores/Evaluations

There are several ways to add test scores in Element451:

  • By applicants: Students can enter their test scores during the application process using the user-evaluations-unofficial-root field.

  • By staff: You can manually enter scores from a contact’s Evaluations profile card within their contact record or import them using the Import + Export module.

note To manage your test thresholds and configuration settings, go to Decision Settings > Tests. Read more about Test settings in our Decisions: Tests help article.


Viewing Superscores

There are two places where you can view superscores in the platform:

  1. During Application Review: Superscores are displayed in the Tests section when reviewing and scoring a decision. You’ll see either ACT (S) or SAT (S) listed. The (S) indicates that the score is a superscore. If a score with "(S)" is not listed, a superscore has not yet been calculated. This indicates that the applicant has only one test on file or, if multiple tests exist, an individual score is missing, which may prevent the calculation (see calculation logic below).

  2. In the Contact Record (Superscores Profile Card): The Superscores card within the contact record shows the calculated composite score for both ACT and SAT, using all available test attempts.

If you view the superscore from the profile card, you can review the highest scores used in the superscore calculation by clicking "view scores."

important ACT and SAT superscores are calculated automatically by Element451. You cannot manually add or edit superscores.


Superscore Calculation Logic

Element451 automatically calculates superscores for ACT and SAT based on the highest scores a student has earned across all attempts. Superscores are recalculated anytime a new test score is added to the record.

ACT Superscore Logic (Effective April 2025)

Element451 calculates the ACT superscore using the highest scores across all test attempts for the following sections:

  • English

  • Math

  • Reading

  • Science (optional)

Calculation process:

  1. Verify required scores:

    • English, Math, and Reading must all be present.

    • Science is optional.

  2. Calculate possible composites:

    • If Science is available: Add the highest English, Math, Reading, and Science scores, then divide by 4.

    • If Science is unavailable: Add the highest English, Math, and Reading scores, then divide by 3.

  3. Round: Round the result to the nearest whole number.

If any of English, Math, or Reading scores are missing, a superscore will not be calculated.

SAT Superscore Logic

Element451 calculates the SAT superscore by identifying the highest section scores across all test attempts:

  • Evidence-Based Reading & Writing (ERW)

  • Math

Calculation process:

  1. Confirm that both ERW and Math scores are present.

  2. Add the highest ERW and Math scores together.

  3. The result is the SAT superscore composite.

If either section score is missing, a superscore will not be calculated.

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