Introduction
The ACT is one of the most important college entrance exams in the United States. Your ACT composite score, which ranges from 1 to 36, plays a big role in college admissions, scholarships, and course placement. But figuring out how your raw scores (the number of questions you got right) turn into scaled scores can be confusing. That's where this ACT Score Calculator comes in.
This tool converts your raw scores from each section (English, Math, Reading, and Science) into scaled scores on the 1 to 36 scale. It then calculates your composite score, STEM score, and percentile rankings so you can see exactly where you stand. You can choose from multiple test years, including the enhanced ACT (2025 onward), where Science is optional and does not count toward your composite. Simply enter the number of questions you answered correctly in each section using the sliders or input boxes, and the calculator does the rest instantly. This calculator gives you a clear picture of your performance and helps you set score goals for test day.
How to Use Our ACT Score Calculator
Enter the number of questions you answered correctly in each ACT section, and this calculator will convert your raw scores into scaled scores (1–36), a composite score, a STEM score, and percentile rankings.
Practice Test Version: Select the test year or format that matches your practice test. The enhanced ACT scores fewer questions and makes Science optional, while earlier years (2024–2025, 2023–2024, 2019–2020, 2018–2019, and 2016–2017) use the older 215-question format. On ACT's practice test in that format, the English test has 75 questions, Mathematics 60, Reading 40 and Science 40.4 The calculator adjusts its scoring tables based on your selection.
English Raw Score: Use the slider or type in the number of English questions you got right. The maximum depends on the test year you chose: 40 scored questions on the enhanced ACT or 75 questions for earlier years.
Math Raw Score: Enter the number of Math questions you answered correctly. The enhanced ACT scores 41 questions, while older formats have 60.
Reading Raw Score: Enter the number of Reading questions you got right. The enhanced ACT scores 27 questions, and earlier years include 40.
Science Raw Score: Enter the number of Science questions you answered correctly. On the enhanced ACT, Science is optional, does not count toward your composite score, and has 34 scored questions. For all other test years, Science is required, factors into the composite, and has 40 questions.
After entering your scores, click Calculate to see your scaled score and percentile for each section, your overall ACT composite score, your STEM score (average of Math and Science), a bar chart comparing all sections, and a donut chart showing how each section contributes to your composite. Click Reset to return all values to their defaults.
ACT Score Calculator – Convert Raw Scores to Scaled Scores
The ACT is a standardized test used by colleges and universities across the United States to help with admissions decisions. It measures what you've learned in high school across four main subject areas: English, Math, Reading, and Science. Your performance on the ACT gives colleges a way to compare students from different schools and backgrounds on a common scale. If you're also preparing for the SAT, our SAT Score Calculator can help you estimate those scores as well.
How ACT Scoring Works
When you take the ACT, you earn a raw score for each section. Your raw score is simply the total number of questions you answered correctly. There is no penalty for wrong answers, so every question you get right adds one point to your raw score.1 This raw score is then converted into a scaled score that ranges from 1 to 36 using a conversion table.2 The conversion table changes slightly from test to test to account for small differences in difficulty between test versions.2
On the enhanced ACT, your composite score is the average of your English, math, and reading scale scores, rounded to the nearest whole number, with fractions of one-half or more rounded up.1 Tests taken before the change averaged all four sections, Science included. ACT began leaving Science out of the Composite for National online testing in April 2025, and all ACT tests used the new calculation from September 2025.1 This single number between 1 and 36 is what most people refer to as your "ACT score." The national average Composite score for graduating high school students was 19.4 in 2024.1
ACT Section Breakdown
- English: Tests grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and rhetorical skills.
- Math: Covers number and quantity, algebra, functions, geometry, and statistics and probability.1
- Reading: Measures reading comprehension across different passage types.
- Science: Tests your ability to interpret data, analyze experiments, and evaluate scientific reasoning.
Changes in the 2025 ACT Format
Starting in 2025, the ACT introduced a new shorter format. On the enhanced ACT, 40 English questions are scored, plus 10 field-test questions that do not count.1 Math has 41 scored and 4 field-test questions, reading has 27 scored and 9 field-test questions, and science has 34 scored and 6 field-test questions.1 A major change is that the Science section is now optional and does not count toward your composite score. If you do take Science, you still receive a scaled score for it, and it is used to calculate your STEM score, which is the average of your Math and Science scaled scores.1
What Are Percentiles?
Your percentile ranking (ACT calls it your national rank) is the percentage of recent high school graduates who took the ACT and scored at or below your score.3 For example, the national rank for a Composite score of 22 is 72: 72 percent of recent high school graduates who took the ACT scored 22 or lower.3 This calculator uses ACT's national ranks for the 2026-2027 reporting year, which has a separate rank for each section and for the Composite.
What Is a Good ACT Score?
A good ACT score is one that meets or exceeds the average score of students admitted to the colleges you are applying to.1 ACT describes score ranges this way:
- 30 to 36: Top-tier schools.1
- 24 to 28: A strong score for more selective colleges and universities.1
- 20 to 23: Competitive at many mid-tier colleges.1
- 18 to 20: Widely accepted at regional and open-admission colleges.1
Always check the middle 50% score range for the specific colleges you are interested in. That range tells you the scores that the middle half of admitted students earned, giving you a realistic target to aim for. If you're tracking your academic progress alongside test prep, our GPA Calculator can help you monitor your grades.