ACT Score Calculator

This ACT score calculator adds English, Math and Reading, divides by 3 and rounds to a whole number (halves up) for your Composite; Science no longer counts.

  • Last verified Oct 19, 2026
  • Source: ACT Education Corp.
On this page

English 22, Math 19, Reading 18, Science 19 → composite 20

20

63% of ACT-tested high school graduates of 2024–2026 earned a Composite of 20 or lower.

Composite percentile rank63rd
STEM19
STEM percentile rank58th
Middle score (50th percentile): Composite between 17 (47th) and 18 (52nd).

Source: ACT Education CorpLast verified Oct 19, 2026

1–36

1–36

1–36

1–36. Optional: leave blank if you did not take it

Enter the 1–36 scale scores from your score report. ACT turns raw answers into scale scores separately for each test form, so this page does not convert raw scores.

Science is optional: leave it blank if you skipped it. The STEM score needs it.

The English Language Arts (ELA) score is not worked out here: it needs your Writing raw score converted to a 1–36 scale, and ACT does not publish that conversion.

Each of your scores with its published percentile rank
ScoreYoursPercentile rank
Composite2063rd
STEM1958th
English2274th
Math1964th
Reading1847th
Science1954th

Percentile rank = the percent of scores at or below yours. Source table: ACT national ranks 2026–2027 (ACT-tested graduates of 2024–2026).

Show the math
How your ACT result was worked out
Composite(22 + 19 + 18) ÷ 3 = 19.67 → 20 (rounded to the nearest whole number, halves up)
STEM(19 + 19) ÷ 2 = 19
Composite percentile rank20 → 63rd

ACT score range at a glance

Total score range
1–36
Sections and score ranges
English 1–36, Math 1–36, Reading 1–36; Science 1–36 optional; Writing 2–12 optional
How the total is made
Average of English, Math and Reading, rounded to the nearest whole number (halves round up)
Testing time
125 minutes without the optional Science section
Percentile table used
2026–2027 national ranks (ACT-tested graduates of 2024–2026), for tests taken September 2026 to August 2027

Source: ACT Education Corp.

Average ACT score

ACT's 2026–2027 national ranks give a mean Composite of 19.1 for ACT-tested high school graduates of 2024–2026. The mean section scores are 18.4 in English, 19.0 in Math, 20.0 in Reading and 19.5 in Science.

Source: ACT Education Corp.

Good to know

  • What the percentile counts: Scores at or below yours, the same as ASVAB, ISEE, MCAT, SAT and SSAT.
  • Skipping Science leaves your Composite unchanged, but you get no STEM score, because STEM is the rounded average of Math and Science.
  • No calculator can rebuild your ELA score exactly: ACT averages English, Reading and Writing only after converting your writing raw score (8–48) to a 1–36 scale, and that conversion table is not published.

Common questions

How is the ACT scored?

Each test is scored on the number of questions you answer correctly, with no penalty for wrong answers, and ACT converts that raw score to a 1–36 scale score by equating each test form. The Composite is the rounded average of English, Math and Reading; Science and Writing are optional and scored separately.

How to calculate ACT composite score

Add your English, Math and Reading scores, divide by 3 and round to the nearest whole number, with halves rounded up. For example, 22, 19 and 18 average 19.67, which rounds to a Composite of 20.

Does the Science score count toward the ACT composite?

No. Since September 2025, ACT calculates the Composite from English, Math and Reading only; Science feeds the separate STEM score, the rounded average of Math and Science.

Is a 25 on the ACT good?

On ACT's 2026–2027 national ranks, a Composite of 25 has a national rank of 83: 83% of ACT-tested high school graduates of 2024–2026 scored 25 or lower. The same table gives a mean Composite of 19.1.

What is the ACT writing score range?

2 to 12. Your writing score is the rounded average of four domain scores, each also from 2 to 12; ACT says the average writing score is between 6 and 7. Writing does not change your Composite.

What does the ACT writing rubric look at?

Four domains: Ideas and Analysis, Development and Support, Organization, and Language Use and Conventions. On paper, two readers each give 1 to 6 per domain, so each domain score runs from 2 to 12.

Source for these answers: ACT Education Corp.

More details

More facts, beyond the ones at a glance, and where each comes from
WhatValue
Scored sections3 (plus optional Science)
Questions on the required sections131 (108 scored, plus 23 field-test questions that don't count)
Unscored sectionsNone: the field-test questions are mixed into the sections instead
Official percentile table publishedYes
Official raw-to-scale table for the live testNo: each test form is equated separately
What the percentile countsScores at or below yours
STEM scoreAverage of Math and Science, rounded; reported only if you take Science
Science counts toward the CompositeNo: since September 2025, ACT calculates the Composite from English, Math and Reading only
ELA scoreRounded average of English, Reading and Writing; needs Writing, whose 1–36 conversion ACT does not publish
Penalty for wrong answersNo
Mean scores on the 2026–2027 national ranksComposite 19.1; English 18.4, Math 19.0, Reading 20.0, Science 19.5, STEM 19.5 (ACT-tested graduates of 2024–2026)
Writing scoreRounded average of the four domain scores, reported from 2 to 12
How each writing domain is scoredTwo trained readers each score the domain from 1 to 6 (paper); the domain score is their sum, from 2 to 12
Writing rubric domainsIdeas and Analysis; Development and Support; Organization; Language Use and Conventions
Average writing scoreBetween 6 and 7
Writing counts toward the CompositeNo

Source: ACT Education Corp.

Common values

Common inputs and the result this calculator gives for each
InputResult
Composite 3499th percentile
Composite 3297th percentile
Composite 3094th percentile
Composite 2891st percentile
Composite 2789th percentile
Composite 2583rd percentile
Composite 2480th percentile
Composite 2272nd percentile
Composite 2063rd percentile

Each input links to its row in the full table below.

ACT score distribution: the national rank of every Composite

Each row is the percent of test takers who earned that Composite or lower. 1 is the lowest rank ACT prints, so every Composite from 1 to 9 shows the 1st percentile. Source table: ACT national ranks 2026–2027 (ACT-tested graduates of 2024–2026).

Composite scores from 36 down to 1 with their national ranks
CompositeNational rank
Composite 36100th percentile
Composite 3599th percentile
Composite 3499th percentile
Composite 3398th percentile
Composite 3297th percentile
Composite 3196th percentile
Composite 3094th percentile
Composite 2993rd percentile
Composite 2891st percentile
Composite 2789th percentile
Composite 2686th percentile
Composite 2583rd percentile
Composite 2480th percentile
Composite 2377th percentile
Composite 2272nd percentile
Composite 2168th percentile
Composite 2063rd percentile
Composite 1958th percentile
Composite 1852nd percentile
Composite 1747th percentile
Composite 1641st percentile
Composite 1534th percentile
Composite 1428th percentile
Composite 1320th percentile
Composite 1213th percentile
Composite 116th percentile
Composite 102nd percentile
Composite 91st percentile
Composite 81st percentile
Composite 71st percentile
Composite 61st percentile
Composite 51st percentile
Composite 41st percentile
Composite 31st percentile
Composite 21st percentile
Composite 11st percentile

Source: ACT Education Corp.

ACT scoring chart: national ranks by test and STEM

The same national ranks for the English, Math, Reading and Science scores and for STEM, with the same lowest rank (1st) at the bottom of each column. ACT publishes no raw-score conversion for the live test, so this chart starts from the 1–36 scale scores on your report.

Scale scores from 36 down to 1 with the national rank in each test and STEM
ScoreEnglishMathReadingScienceSTEM
36100th100th100th100th100th
3599th99th98th99th99th
3497th99th97th99th99th
3396th98th95th98th98th
3295th97th93rd97th97th
3194th96th91st96th96th
3093rd95th89th95th95th
2992nd94th87th93rd94th
2890th93rd85th92nd92nd
2788th91st83rd91st90th
2687th88th81st89th88th
2584th84th78th86th85th
2481st81st75th82nd81st
2377th77th71st77th77th
2274th74th66th70th73rd
2170th71st61st65th69th
2064th68th56th60th64th
1958th64th51st54th58th
1854th60th47th48th52nd
1750th53rd42nd41st45th
1646th45th37th34th36th
1541st33rd33rd27th27th
1434th21st28th19th17th
1328th11th22nd14th10th
1223rd6th16th10th5th
1118th3rd10th6th2nd
1011th2nd5th3rd1st
96th1st2nd2nd1st
83rd1st1st1st1st
72nd1st1st1st1st
61st1st1st1st1st
51st1st1st1st1st
41st1st1st1st1st
31st1st1st1st1st
21st1st1st1st1st
11st1st1st1st1st

Source: ACT Education Corp.

How it works

ACT averages your English, Math and Reading scale scores and rounds to the nearest whole number, with a fraction of one-half or more rounded up. STEM is the rounded average of Math and Science. Each score is then found in ACT's 2026–2027 national ranks.

Composite = (English + Math + Reading) ÷ 3, rounded; STEM = (Math + Science) ÷ 2, rounded

  1. Enter your English, Math and Reading scale scores (1–36), and Science if you took it.
  2. Add English, Math and Reading and divide by 3.
  3. Round to the nearest whole number: a fraction of one-half or more rounds up.
  4. For STEM, average Math and Science and round the same way.
  5. Look up each score in the 2026–2027 national ranks: the rank is the percent of recent graduates who scored the same or lower.

The scores on the sample student report in ACT's 2026–2027 User Handbook

  • English 22, Math 19, Reading 18, Science 19
  • Composite: (22 + 19 + 18) ÷ 3 = 19.67, rounded to 20
  • STEM: (19 + 19) ÷ 2 = 19
  • 2026–2027 national rank for a Composite of 20: 63

Composite 20 and STEM 19, the same as ACT's sample report. The sample report's ranks are illustrative: on ACT's 2026–2027 national ranks, a Composite of 20 has a rank of 63.

Related: SAT score calculator

What this doesn't account for

  • The ELA score: it needs a writing-score conversion that ACT does not publish.
  • Turning correct-answer counts into scale scores: ACT equates each test form separately.
  • Ranks for tests after August 2027, when ACT's next table applies.

Compared with similar tests

ACT next to similar tests on this site
TestTotal score rangeSectionsHow the total is made
ACT1–36English 1–36, Math 1–36, Reading 1–36; Science 1–36 optional; Writing 2–12 optionalAverage of English, Math and Reading, rounded to the nearest whole number (halves round up)
SAT score calculator400–1600Reading and Writing 200–800, Math 200–800Sum of the Reading and Writing and Math section scores

See every test's score range

Sources

  1. Understanding Your ACT ScoresACT Education Corp. Checked Oct 18, 2026.
  2. ACT Test Score Percentiles and National RanksACT Education Corp. Checked Oct 18, 2026.
  3. ACT Score National Ranks 2026–2027 (PDF)ACT Education Corp. Checked Oct 18, 2026.
  4. The ACT Test User Handbook for Educators 2026–2027 (PDF)ACT Education Corp. Checked Oct 18, 2026.
  5. The ACT TestACT Education Corp. Checked Oct 18, 2026.
  6. Understanding ACT Writing Test Scores (with the scoring rubric)ACT Education Corp. Checked Oct 18, 2026.

Verified by

Checked by CountOnTools against its official sources on Oct 19, 2026. How we verify

CountOnTools is not affiliated with ACT Education Corp. ACT Education Corp. did not review or endorse this page.