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ACT score calculator

Enter how many questions you got right in each of the four sections and get estimated 1–36 section scores and the composite. The conversion is the same one every full-length ACT practice test on this site is scored with, so a practice test's raw tally typed in here gives back the score it reported.

Raw score to composite

out of 75
out of 60
out of 40
out of 40

Composite score

27

Estimated, on the 1–36 scale

English
26
Math
28
Reading
25
Science
27

Estimated. ACT uses a different conversion table for every test form; see the questions below for how close this gets.

How the ACT is scored

Four sections, always in the same order, each converted from a raw count of correct answers to a 1–36 scale score through a table built for that test form. The composite is the plain average of the four, rounded — no section is weighted more than another, so a point gained in Science is worth exactly as much as one gained in Math.

Because Reading and Science are only 40 questions each, every question in them is worth about a full scale point near the top of the range. English, at 75 questions, is the most forgiving — around half a point per question. That asymmetry is why pacing, simply finishing the two short sections, is usually the fastest route to a higher composite.

ACT structure — the same format as every full-length practice test on this site.
SectionQuestionsMinutesWhat it covers
English7545Grammar, punctuation, and rhetoric, tested inside passages.
Math6060Pre-algebra through trigonometry. A calculator is allowed throughout.
Reading4035Four passages, ten questions each. The tightest timing on the test.
Science4035Charts, experiments, and conflicting viewpoints — data reading, not recall.
Whole test215175

ACT conversion tables by section

The full curves the calculator runs on, one per section, so you can read a target backwards: find the section score you want and see how many questions it takes.

English: correct answers out of 75 → 1–36 section score.
CorrectEnglish scoreCorrectEnglish score
013816
123917
224017
334118
444218
544319
654419
764520
864620
974721
1074821
1174921
1285021
1385122
1495222
1595322
1695423
17105523
18105624
19105724
20105825
21115925
22116026
23116127
24116227
25126328
26126429
27126529
28126630
29136731
30136832
31136933
32147034
33147135
34157235
35157335
36157436
37167536
Math: correct answers out of 60 → 1–36 section score.
CorrectMath scoreCorrectMath score
013120
133221
243322
363422
483523
593624
6113724
7123825
8123925
9134026
10134126
11144227
12144327
13144428
14144528
15154629
16154729
17154830
18154931
19165031
20165132
21165233
22175333
23175434
24175534
25185635
26185735
27185835
28195936
29196036
3019
Reading: correct answers out of 40 → 1–36 section score.
CorrectReading scoreCorrectReading score
012119
122220
242321
352421
462522
582623
692723
7102824
8102925
9113025
10113127
11123228
12123329
13133430
14133531
15143632
16153733
17163834
18163935
19174036
2018
Science: correct answers out of 40 → 1–36 section score.
CorrectScience scoreCorrectScience score
012121
132222
242323
362423
482524
592625
6102725
7102826
8112927
9123027
10123128
11143229
12153330
13163431
14173532
15183633
16183734
17193834
18203935
19204036
2021

Get a raw score worth converting. ACT Practice Test 1 is free, full-length and timed by section, and reports this same estimate alongside your accuracy and pace by topic.

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ACT scoring questions, answered

How is the ACT scored?

Each of the four sections — English, Math, Reading and Science — is scored from 1 to 36 by converting the number of questions you answered correctly through a table built for that test form. The composite is the average of the four section scores, rounded to the nearest whole number (halves round up). There is no penalty for a wrong answer.

Is this calculator accurate?

It is an estimate, labelled as one everywhere on the site. ACT publishes a different conversion table for each form, equated so that a raw score means the same thing across administrations — ACT's own scoring guide notes that a raw 35 on one form can be as hard to earn as a 37 on another. This calculator uses a published ACT conversion table re-expressed as a percentage of each section, which keeps the real curve's shape while fitting this site's section lengths. Expect the real score to land within a point or two per section.

How is the ACT composite rounded?

Add the four section scores, divide by four, and round to the nearest whole number, with .5 rounding up. So 26, 28, 25 and 27 average to 26.5 and produce a composite of 27. One extra correct answer in a single section can therefore move the composite by a full point, or not at all, depending on where the average sits.

What is a good ACT score?

About 20 is the middle of all test takers; 24 and up is solidly above average; 30 and up is competitive at selective universities. Read the calculator backwards: a 30 composite is roughly 65 of 75 in English, 48 of 60 in Math, 34 of 40 in Reading and 33 of 40 in Science.

Why do Reading and Science scores move so much per question?

Because those sections are short — 40 questions each. Near the top of the scale, every wrong answer in Reading or Science costs about a full scale point, where a wrong answer in the 75-question English section costs about half of one. That is also why pacing matters most in those two sections: each blank at the end of a passage is a point off the section, and a quarter of a point off the composite.

How do I get my raw score without taking the real test?

Take a full-length practice test. ACT Practice Test 1 on this site is free, timed section by section the way the real test is — 45, 60, 35 and 35 minutes — and reports the raw tally per section, the estimated scaled score from this same curve, and accuracy by topic.