Tell me more. What type of scores? Let’s pretend they’re scores on an academic exam that range from 0% to 100% correct. In that case, the variable is ordinal a.k.a. sequential so I’d recommend using vertical columns.

Ah, great question!
I see a lot of vertical column charts where the labels are so close together that the text gets twisted diagonally (http://annkemery.com/avoiding-diagonal-text/), which takes our brains longer to read than plain ol’ horizontal text. Or, worse, sometimes the labels are so close together that the phrases get cut off altogether. In those cases, swapping the vertical columns for horizontal bars to improve legibility is a must.
I also see a lot of inconsistency within documents. For example, I’ll see an ordinal variable like age ranges in a column chart on page one. And then I’ll see another ordinal variable in a bar chart on page two. The inconsistency drives me crazy. That’s why I follow my own guidelines (from this post). More consistency means readers spent less time interpreting the graph (and therefore have more mental energy left to actually think about the implications of the data and act on it).
I also see a LOT of personal preferences driving vertical vs. horizontal decisions. Some people swear that columns look better. I tend to prefer bars, probably because I’ve seen too many smushed columns with diagonal text.
I don’t know whether any researchers have tested this yet. Let me know if you find any good studies.