ACT Scores: Everything You Need to Know

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Former Admissions Committee Member, Columbia University

Curious about how the ACT scores work? This article will break down everything you need to know about your ACT scores.

Your ACT score measures how ready you are for a college education. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many universities have made submitting standardized tests optional.

However, if you still plan to send in your ACT scores, they will be an essential part of your application profile. Before you take the ACT, it’s a great idea to truly understand your ACT scores. This article will show you everything you need to know about ACT scores. Let's get started!

How is the ACT Score Calculated?

Your ACT score is determined by averaging your scores from the four mandatory sections: English, Math, Reading, and Science. Simply add up your scores from these sections and divide by 4, then round the result to the nearest whole number. This composite score is what colleges typically use to assess your performance on the ACT.

Understanding Your Score: Factors to Consider

Once you understand the ACT grading, it’s easy to understand your ACT scores. While the ACT consists of four mandatory subjects and one optional writing test, only the mandatory subject tests will be accounted for in your ACT score.

Keep in mind that each subject is composed of smaller topics and concepts. The ACT Math test, for example, will ask questions about operations, fractions, algebra and functions. How well you do in each of these smaller categories will affect how high your ACT composite score will be.

Your ACT score will be delivered to you on a score report. The report will contain all the information you need about your ACT score, including your composite score and each score for the various subject tests.

The ACT score report gives you an in-depth understanding of how you performed, not just in a broad sense, but for each subject.

ACT Reporting Category

Your ACT score report will contain reporting categories, which are detailed breakdowns of how well you did on each test topic. This includes breakdowns for the four subject tests and smaller sub-categories.

The following table consists of all reporting categories included in an ACT score report.

Note: “Percentage” here means the percentage of the entire subject test taken up by the reporting category. For example, “interpretation of data” takes up 45% to 55% of the ACT science test.

For each reporting category, there will be:

• The total number of questions in that category;
• The number of questions answered correctly;
• The percentage of questions answered correctly; and
• Your college readiness for each category.

The reporting category gives you and your colleagues a clear and detailed introspect. It helps colleges assess your skills and abilities and determine whether or not you’re qualified for the program you’re applying for. At the same time, it guides you on what areas to improve in the future, especially if you’re planning to retake the test.

College Readiness

College readiness is another essential measurement in your ACT score report.

As mentioned before, the ACT test is meant to see whether or not you’re ready for the beginning of post-secondary education. Scores are an excellent evaluation of someone’s abilities, but they have weaknesses.

Each category varies in difficulty, so your score is not necessarily a solid indicator of your proficiency. As a result, it’s a bit hard to determine what constitutes a “good” score for each category.

That is not to say that scores don’t matter, but the inconsistent difficulties across all the different categories make it a little troubling to measure performance.

For example, you could get 85% of the questions right in an easy category, but a good percentage would actually be 90%. Meanwhile, a 70% correct percentage would be considered good in a difficult category.

Here is where college readiness comes into play. College readiness factors in the difficulties of each category and each question and determines which scores are considered good for that specific category. That way, you can determine whether you’re truly college-ready in that area.

College readiness is given for both your subject test scores and the scores for the reporting categories but not for the overall composite score. Therefore, readiness provides a more consistent measurement of how well you did.

Benchmarks

Benchmarks are another assessment of college readiness. However, instead of ranges like the ACT readiness range shown in the reporting categories, benchmarks are presented as specific ACT test score values.

If your score is equal to or higher than the benchmark score, that means you have at least:

• a 50% chance of obtaining a B or higher or,
• a 75% chance of obtaining a C or higher in corresponding credit-bearing first-year college courses.

Note that the percentages above are all approximates. And, of course, the higher your actual ACT tests are, the more likely you will get a C or B or better.

What’s the ACT Score Range?

The ACT score range is from 1 to 36 for each section as well as for the composite score. Here's a breakdown of the score ranges:

• English: 1 to 36
• Mathematics: 1 to 36
• Reading: 1 to 36
• Science: 1 to 36
• Composite (average of the four section scores): 1 to 36

Is the ACT Test Hard?

Whether the ACT is hard depends on the individual. Some might struggle with lengthy reading passages or tricky math questions. However, because the test follows a predictable format, practice can make a significant difference.

Even if you find it tough at first, practicing regularly can help you improve. With time and effort, you can overcome any challenges and improve your performance on the ACT.

How Important is the ACT?

Taking the ACT test can significantly boost your chances of securing scholarships, whether they're new opportunities or enhancements to existing ones. In fact, research shows that students tend to earn more scholarship dollars with ACT scores compared to SAT scores.

This means that performing well on the ACT can open up more financial aid options for your college education. So, if you're aiming to minimize the financial burden of college tuition, taking the ACT and striving for a strong score could be a smart move.

The Difference Between Raw Score and Scale ACT Score?

Your raw score on the ACT is simply the total number of questions you answer correctly across all sections of the test (English, Math, Reading, and Science). For every correct answer, you earn one point, with no penalties for wrong answers.

Once you have your raw score for each section, it's converted into a scale score ranging from 1 to 36. This scale score is what colleges and universities use to evaluate your performance. The conversion process ensures that scores from different versions of the test can be compared accurately.

So, while your raw score tells you how many questions you got right, your scale score gives you a standardized measure of your performance on the ACT.

What is the Average ACT Score?

According to the 2023 ACT report, the average ACT score this past year was 19.5.