The ACT is a standardized test to assess a student's readiness for college. One of the most important things to understand about the ACT is how the test is scored. The scoring system for the ACT is straightforward, and understanding it can help you determine how well you did on the test.
The ACT consists of four sections: English, Math, Reading, and Science. Each section is scored on a scale of 1 to 36, and the scores from each section are averaged together to get your overall score, also on a scale of 1 to 36.
For example, if you get a 30 in English, a 28 in Math, a 32 in Reading, and a 26 in Science, your composite score would be the average of those four scores, which is 29.
The highest possible score on the ACT is 36, and a score of 20 is considered average. It's also important to note that there is no penalty for guessing on the ACT, so it's always better to guess than to leave an answer blank.
Understanding how the ACT is scored can help you focus your studying efforts and set goals for yourself. Additionally, by looking at a sample ACT score chart, you can see what score ranges are needed for admission to different colleges and universities.
Calculate ACT Score
You must first understand the difference between raw and scale scores to calculate your ACT score.
Raw scores are the number of questions you get right on each test section (English, Math, Reading, and Science). For example, if you answered 50 out of 75 questions correctly in the Math section, your raw score for Math would be 50.
Scale scores are the scores reported on your ACT score report, ranging from 1 to 36. The raw scores for each section are converted into scale scores by equating. Equating adjusts for differences in difficulty across different versions of the ACT so that scores from one test date can be compared to scores from another.
After you receive your scale score for each section, you can calculate your composite score, which is your overall ACT score. To do this, you add your scale scores for English, Math, Reading, and Science, divide by 4, and round your final answer to the nearest whole number.
For example, let's say you scored a 30 in English, a 28 in Math, a 32 in Reading, and a 26 in Science.
To calculate your composite score, you would add up the scale scores for each section:
30 + 28 + 32 + 26 = 116
Then, you would divide by 4:
116 ÷ 4 = 29
So your composite score would be 29.
It's important to note that there is no penalty for guessing on the ACT. Therefore, it's better to guess on questions you don't know the answer to rather than leave them blank. Doing so increases your chances of getting more questions right and improving your raw score, which can ultimately lead to a higher scale score and composite score.
Knowing how to calculate your ACT score can help you understand your performance on the test and determine if you need to retake the exam to improve your score for college admissions.
Sample ACT Scoring Chart
A sample ACT scoring chart is a table that shows how raw scores are converted into scale scores for each section of the ACT (English, Math, Reading, and Science).
|
Scale Score |
English Raw Score |
Math Raw Score |
Reading Raw Score |
Science Raw Score |
|
36 |
75 |
59—60 |
40 |
40 |
|
35 |
73–74 |
57–58 |
39 |
39 |
|
34 |
71–72 |
55–56 |
38 |
38 |
|
33 |
70 |
54 |
— |
37 |
|
32 |
69 |
53 |
37 |
— |
|
31 |
68 |
52 |
36 |
36 |
|
30 |
67 |
50–51 |
35 |
35 |
|
29 |
66 |
49 |
34 |
34 |
|
28 |
64–65 |
47–48 |
33 |
33 |
|
27 |
62–63 |
45–46 |
32 |
31–21 |
|
26 |
60–61 |
43–44 |
31 |
30 |
|
25 |
58–59 |
41–42 |
30 |
28–29 |
|
24 |
56–57 |
38-40 |
29 |
26-27 |
|
23 |
53–55 |
36–37 |
27–28 |
24–25 |
|
22 |
51–52 |
34–35 |
26 |
23 |
|
21 |
48–50 |
33 |
25 |
21–22 |
|
20 |
45–47 |
31–32 |
23–24 |
19–20 |
|
19 |
42–44 |
29–30 |
22 |
17–18 |
|
18 |
40–41 |
27–28 |
20–21 |
16 |
|
17 |
38–39 |
24–26 |
19 |
14–15 |
|
16 |
35–37 |
19–23 |
18 |
13 |
|
15 |
33–34 |
15–18 |
16–17 |
12 |
|
14 |
30–32 |
12–14 |
14–15 |
11 |
|
13 |
29 |
10–11 |
13 |
10 |
|
12 |
27–28 |
8–9 |
11–12 |
9 |
|
11 |
25–26 |
6–7 |
9–10 |
8 |
|
10 |
23–24 |
5 |
8 |
7 |
