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ACT Score Policies

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ACT Score Policies

shape Introduction

What is a good ACT score?
ACT: About the Exam
  • The ACTis an abbreviation given to the American College Testing. This is a standardized examination whose scores are used by candidates to seek admission in the colleges of the United States.

  • Since it was first introduced in 1959, numerous changes have been made in the Act exam pattern and the scores by the Act, the non-profit organization that administers the exam.

  • The four sections of the exam, namely; English, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Natural Sciences are individually scored on a scale from1 to 36.

  • The rounded whole number which is the average of the all the four sections is provided to the candidates as the composite ACT score.

  • Every candidate dream of a top college to seek admission in and this comes only with a good ACT score. It then becomes crucial to know what good score shall mean.

shape ACT

What is a good ACT score - Score Percentiles:
  • The composite score of 1 to 36 shall correspond to a percentile that will compare the scores of the candidates with the general population of ACT candidates.

  • In simple words, a higher percentile shall mean that a candidate has scored higher than that percentage of total candidates.

Given below are the score percentile of each section and composite score percentile
Score English Percentile Mathematics Percentile Reading Percentile Science Percentile Composite Percentile
1 1 1 1 1 1
5 1 1 1 1 1
10 6 1 3 2 1
13 18 3 13 10 9
16 36 31 28 25 27
18 44 48 38 37 40
20 52 57 49 50 52
22 64 65 60 64 64
24 75 74 70 77 74
26 82 83 77 86 82
28 86 91 82 90 88
30 90 95 87 94 93
34 96 99 97 98 99
36 99 99 99 99 99

What is a good ACT score - Key Findings:
  • The Act scores follow a normal distribution. In other words, the candidate’s performance tends to cluster around the middle of the scale.

  • Fewer candidates score towards the higher end or, the lower end of the score scale.

  • Since the average here is 20.8, the candidates who have scored 21 have scored higher than 50 percent of the candidates.

  • Again the average is 20.8 at the 50th percentile. Therefore, a score of 24 shall mean that the candidate has scored better than 74 percent of candidates.

  • Further, 28 scores shall mean that the candidate has scored better than 88 percent of candidates.

  • Similarly, 30 scores shall mean that the candidate has scored better than 93 percent of candidates.

  • A score of 35 or above is truly a phenomenal score and lies in the [latex]{99}^{th}[/latex]percentile.
What is a good ACT score - Good’ ACT Score:
  • Naturally, the higher the score, the more likely it is for candidates to seek admission and excel in college.

  • Since candidates take the ACT exam to seek the admission, it becomes crucial for them what is the good score that shall help them seek admission in the top schools of the United States.

Given below is the table that shall reveal the ACT score range of some of the top Universities in the United States.
University Name [latex]{25}^{th}[/latex] Percentile Scores [latex]{75}^{th}[/latex] Percentile Scores
Princeton University 32 35
University of Chicago 32 35
Harvard University 32 35
Stanford University 31 35
Yale University 31 35
Columbia University 32 35
Duke University 31 34
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 33 35
Johns Hopkins University 32 34
University of Pennsylvania 31 34

What is a good ACT score - Key Findings:
  • It is hard to decide on a good score. For instance, a 29 is an above average score. However, it is quite low if the candidate wants to seek admission in one of the super-selective institutes like Stanford, Duke MIT, and so on.

  • The same score of 29 is incredibly high if the candidate wants to seek admission in less selective schools like the University of Southern Indiana, and so on.

  • Moreover, some universities give scholarships to students who score well in the ACT exam. For instance, Baylor University provides a scholarship of $41,996 to students who manage to achieve a perfect 36 score.

  • In addition to this, candidates who have a lower Grade Point Average (GPA) at school can seek admission in, particularly selective institutions by securing a higher ACT score.

shape Scores

  • First we counted the number of questions on each test that you answered correctly. We did not deduct any points for incorrect answers. (There is no penalty for guessing.)

  • Then we converted your raw scores (number of correct answers on each test) to "scale scores." Scale scores have the same meaning for all the different forms of the ACT® test, no matter which dates a test was taken.

  • Your Composite score and each test score (English, mathematics, reading, science) range from 1 (low) to 36 (high). The Composite score is the average of your four test scores, rounded to the nearest whole number. Fractions less than one-half are rounded down; fractions one-half or more are rounded up.

  • Each reporting category includes the total number of questions in that category, the total number of questions in that category you answered correctly, and the percentage of questions correct. ACT reporting categories are aligned with ACT College and Career Readiness Standards and other standards that target college and career readiness.

Scoring for the Writing Test


ACT - Related Information
ACT Test Eligibility
ACT Test Pattern
ACT Test Registration
Introduction to ACT
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