ACT Scores Explained: Percentiles, Superscores and Writing Scores

These are ACT’s 2026–27 percentiles for every ACT score, plus how superscoring works and what counts as a good writing score on the Enhanced ACT. For a quick benchmark: a 24 composite is the 80th percentile, a 28 is the 91st and a 30 is the 94th.

Still studying for the ACT? Have a look at the best ACT prep books for this year.

How ACT Scoring Works on the Enhanced ACT

The ACT changed in 2025. Science became optional, and it was taken out of the composite – starting with online national tests in April 2025 and all national tests from September 2025. Here is every score you can get now:

Score	Range	What it is
Composite	1–36	Average of English, Math and Reading
English, Math, Reading	1–36 each	The three required sections
Science	1–36	Optional add-on
STEM	1–36	Average of Math and Science (only if you take science)
ELA	1–36	Average of English, Reading and Writing (only if you take writing)
Writing	2–12	Optional essay; does not affect your composite

Averages are rounded to the nearest whole number – fractions under one-half round down, one-half or more round up. So English 27, Math 31 and Reading 26 add up to 84, and 84 ÷ 3 gives a composite of 28.

Two things worth knowing if you’re comparing with older scores. Composite scores from tests taken before September 2025 were not recalculated, so a 2024 composite still includes science. And colleges are free to build their own totals – some may still add science back in – so if a school or scholarship publishes a cutoff, check which version of the score it means.

ACT Percentiles 2026–27

An ACT percentile is the percentage of students who scored at or below your score. It is not the percentage of questions you got right. If your composite is at the 75th percentile, 75% of recent test takers scored the same as you or lower.

These are ACT’s official national ranks for tests taken from September 2026 through August 2027, based on ACT-tested high school graduates of 2024, 2025 and 2026. Percentiles shift a little every year, so these replace the older charts you may find elsewhere.

Score	Composite	English	Math	Reading	Science	STEM
36	100	100	100	100	100	100
35	99	99	99	98	99	99
34	99	97	99	97	99	99
33	98	96	98	95	98	98
32	97	95	97	93	97	97
31	96	94	96	91	96	96
30	94	93	95	89	95	95
29	93	92	94	87	93	94
28	91	90	93	85	92	92
27	89	88	91	83	91	90
26	86	87	88	81	89	88
25	83	84	84	78	86	85
24	80	81	81	75	82	81
23	77	77	77	71	77	77
22	72	74	74	66	70	73
21	68	70	71	61	65	69
20	63	64	68	56	60	64
19	58	58	64	51	54	58
18	52	54	60	47	48	52
17	47	50	53	42	41	45
16	41	46	45	37	34	36
15	34	41	33	33	27	27
14	28	34	21	28	19	17
13	20	28	11	22	14	10
12	13	23	6	16	10	5
11	6	18	3	10	6	2
10	2	11	2	5	3	1

Scores of 9 and below are at the 1st or 2nd percentile in every column. Source: ACT National Ranks.

What ACT percentile is good?

There is no single cutoff that gets you in anywhere. As a rough guide from the chart above:

• 18–19 composite is about the middle of the pack (52nd–58th percentile).
• 24 is the 80th percentile.
• 28 is the 91st percentile, and 30 the 94th.
• 32 and above puts you in roughly the top 4%.

What matters more is how your score compares with the students a particular college admits. Most colleges publish a middle-50% score range: land above the middle of that range and your score is working in your favor. If you’re short, a focused ACT study plan or one of the best ACT prep courses can close the gap.

Where to find your percentiles

Your score report in MyACT shows your scores alongside their national ranks, plus a breakdown by reporting category – how many questions there were in each skill area, how many you got right and your percentage correct. Those categories are the most useful part of the report if you plan to retest, because they show exactly which skills cost you points. More detail in ACT’s Understanding Your Scores guide.

How to Calculate Your ACT Superscore

An ACT superscore is a composite built from your best English, Math and Reading scores across every time you’ve taken the ACT, even if those scores came from different test dates. If you have tested more than once since September 2016, ACT calculates it for you automatically and shows it in MyACT.

To work it out yourself: take your highest score in each of English, Math and Reading, add them up, divide by three and round to the nearest whole number. Science is not included – it now feeds your STEM score instead.

Superscore example

	English	Math	Reading	Composite
Test 1	27	31	26	28
Test 2	30	28	29	29
Superscore	30	31	29	30

Neither test produced better than a 29, but the superscore takes the best section from each: (30 + 31 + 29) ÷ 3 = 30. That one-point jump moves this student from the 93rd to the 94th percentile.

Superscore rules that trip people up

• Old and new ACT scores can be combined. ACT says your highest section scores can come from any test event, whether it was the legacy ACT or the enhanced ACT.
• Which formula applies depends on your most recent valid test. If that was the enhanced ACT, it’s English + Math + Reading divided by three. If your last test was the legacy ACT, the old four-section formula with science applies.
• Writing can mix and match too. A writing score from one test date can be combined with multiple-choice scores from another.
• You choose what colleges see. When you send scores through MyACT you can send either a single test date or your superscore, for a per-report fee.

Do colleges accept ACT superscores?

Not all of them. ACT says the number of colleges that superscore is growing, but policies differ and change – so check the testing policy on each school’s admissions website rather than relying on a list. Do the same for merit scholarships: a school may superscore for admission but use a single test date for automatic scholarship cutoffs, and the difference can be worth real money. If you’re hunting for aid, start with these easy scholarships for college.

Source: ACT: How to Calculate Your ACT Superscore.

What Is a Good ACT Writing Score?

The national average ACT writing score is between 6 and 7, so an 8 or higher is a strong score – an 8 is the 93rd percentile and a 9 is the 97th. Writing is scored from 2 to 12 and does not count toward your composite.

How the ACT writing test works

The writing test is an optional 40-minute add-on (+$25 at registration). You get one prompt that describes a complex issue and gives three different perspectives on it. Your job is to develop your own perspective and analyze how it relates to at least one of the others.

Your essay is read by two trained readers and scored in four domains: Ideas and Analysis, Development and Support, Organization, and Language Use and Conventions. Each domain gets a score from 2 to 12, and your writing score is the rounded average of the four. If you also took English and Reading, you get an ELA score as well. More in ACT’s description of the writing test.

ACT writing score percentiles 2026–27

Writing score	Percentile
12	100
11	99
10	99
9	97
8	93
7	72
6	60
5	33
4	21
3	9
2	4

These ranks are based only on the 2024–2026 graduates who took the writing test. Notice the jump between 7 and 8: going from a 7 to an 8 takes you from the 72nd percentile to the 93rd.

Should you take the writing test?

Some colleges and universities require or accept ACT writing (or science) scores, and most don’t. Check the schools on your list before you register. If none ask for it, the writing test adds 40 minutes to your morning and doesn’t change your composite; if one does, prep for the essay properly rather than treating it as an afterthought.

Think your ACT writing score is wrong?

Scoring errors are uncommon, but you have two options:

• ACT My Answer Key ($36 if ordered before the test, $44 after) – formerly the Test Information Release. You get your scored questions, your answers and the answer key, and if you took writing, the prompt and scoring rubric. It’s only offered for certain national test dates (for 2026–27: October and December 2026, April and June 2027) and must be ordered within six months. Details from ACT.
• Score verification ($67 for multiple choice, $67 for writing, $134 for both). For writing, ACT checks that two independent readers scored your essay, with a third reader if they differed by more than a point in any domain, and rescores it if there was an error. Results take about three to five weeks, and the fee is refunded if a scoring error is found.

Fees from ACT’s current fees page. For more on the answer-key service, see our guide to the ACT Test Information Release.

When Do ACT Scores Come Out?

ACT says over 97% of scores are available online within one to four weeks of the test date, and on some 2026–27 dates online-test scores are released a few days before paper scores. You’ll see your multiple-choice and composite scores first; writing takes longer, and colleges don’t receive anything until every score from that test date is ready. Scores are posted in your MyACT account (ACT scores).

Planning your testing around those dates? See how long the ACT is now that it’s shorter, and try a few free ACT practice tests to get a baseline score first.

ACT Scores FAQ