ACT Score Calculator: Enhanced ACT Composite, Ranks and SAT Equivalent

The enhanced ACT is shorter than the old test, and its Composite now leaves Science out. The calculator follows the current rules. It converts correct answers with an official practice-test table and labels every step that is an estimate.

How the enhanced ACT is structured

Three sections are required and count toward the Composite. Science and Writing are optional add-ons.

*Scored items on ACT Online Practice Test 1. Science and Writing are optional; Writing is scored 2–12.

The three core sections add up to 125 minutes of testing (35 + 50 + 40). Each question has four answer choices, and wrong answers aren’t penalized. Every section includes unscored field-test items, so the calculator asks for correct answers out of the scored questions on Practice Test 1.

How the Composite is calculated

Composite = (English + Math + Reading) ÷ 3, rounded: fractions under .5 go down, .5 or more go up.

Worked example. On Practice Test 1 you get 28 of 40 English, 27 of 41 Math and 18 of 27 Reading questions right. The conversion table turns those counts into scale scores of 22, 26 and 23. Their sum is 71, and 71 ÷ 3 = 23.67, which rounds to a Composite of 24. To reach a 25, the average has to hit 24.5, so the three scores must add up to 74: 3 more scale points anywhere.

Add 25 correct in Science and you get a Science score of 27. Your STEM score is then (26 + 27) ÷ 2 = 26.5, which rounds to 27. Science changes nothing in the Composite.

The ELA score averages English, Reading and Writing, but only for students who take the Writing test. Writing is scored 2–12, and ACT doesn’t publish how it is combined with the 1–36 scores, so the calculator doesn’t estimate ELA.

Correct answers needed for each score

These figures come from the conversion table for ACT Online Practice Test 1 (form 25MC1). Each cell shows the fewest correct answers that reach at least that scale score.

ACT warns that tables differ between forms. In its own example, a raw 35 on one Math form is worth about the same as a raw 37 on another. Already have official scale scores? Switch the tool to “Scale scores” and skip the conversion entirely.

National ranks and averages

A national rank is the percent of test takers who scored at or below your score. The 2026–27 ranks are based on ACT-tested graduates from 2024 to 2026 and apply to tests taken from September 2026 through August 2027.

The Class of 2026 averaged a 19.2 Composite (English 18.2, Math 19.0, Reading 19.8) across 1,463,293 graduates who tested. A quarter scored 14 or lower, the median was 18, and a quarter scored 23 or higher.

Converting ACT to SAT

The calculator uses Table A2 of the 2018 ACT/SAT concordance, which gives a single SAT score and a range for each Composite. Some reference points: ACT 36 ≈ 1590, 33 ≈ 1460, 30 ≈ 1370, 27 ≈ 1280, 24 ≈ 1180, 21 ≈ 1080, 18 ≈ 970. The table was built for the paper SAT and an ACT Composite that still included Science, from 589,753 students who took both tests. Read the result as “roughly comparable.” To go the other way, use the SAT score calculator.

How do you convert SAT to ACT? Concordance table and a worked example

Going from an SAT total to an ACT Composite uses the same 2018 concordance, read from the SAT side (Table A1). Each SAT total maps to one ACT Composite. Because the ACT scale has 36 steps and the SAT has 121, several SAT totals share one ACT score.

SAT total to ACT Composite, 2018 ACT/SAT concordance (Table A1)

Worked example: which score is stronger? A junior has an SAT 1250 and an ACT Composite of 27. Converting the SAT gives an ACT 26. Converting the other way, an ACT 27 sits at SAT 1280 (Table A2 range 1260-1290). On both readings the ACT is ahead by about one ACT point, or 30 SAT points. The concordance’s standard error is about 2.26 ACT points, so a one-point gap is not a real difference. Treat the two scores as equal, and decide on something else: which test you can raise more with the dates left, or what your colleges ask for. A gap of 3 or more ACT points after conversion is a meaningful edge.

Juniors who took the October PSAT can check their Selection Index with the PSAT score calculator before choosing between the SAT and the ACT. Colleges read either score next to your transcript, so keep your weighted and unweighted GPA in view too. Wondering where your Composite stands for your college list? Read what is a good ACT score.

2026–27 ACT national test dates

Deadlines are 11:59 p.m. Central Time. The September and October tests have already passed or are about to.

Starting in 2027, ACT says July testing is also available in New York.

Next steps

• Taking the PSAT this year? Check your Selection Index with the PSAT score calculator.
• Add AP results with the AP score calculator and keep your GPA in view. Colleges read test scores next to your transcript.

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