A good ACT score is one at or above the middle of the range at the colleges you are applying to. Nationally, the average Composite for the class of 2025 was 19.4, and 52% of test takers score 18 or lower. 80% score 24 or lower, 91% score 28 or lower, and 98% score 33 or lower.
What are the ACT percentiles for 2026-27?
These are ACT's own national ranks, built from ACT-tested high school graduates of 2024, 2025 and 2026 and used for tests taken from September 2026 through August 2027. Each number is the share of students who scored at or below that Composite.
| Composite | Students at or below | Composite | Students at or below |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | 100% | 24 | 80% |
| 35 | 99% | 23 | 77% |
| 34 | 99% | 22 | 72% |
| 33 | 98% | 21 | 68% |
| 32 | 97% | 20 | 63% |
| 31 | 96% | 19 | 58% |
| 30 | 94% | 18 | 52% |
| 29 | 93% | 17 | 47% |
| 28 | 91% | 16 | 41% |
| 27 | 89% | 15 | 34% |
| 26 | 86% | 14 | 28% |
| 25 | 83% | 13 | 20% |
Why is the average higher than the middle score?
The middle student scores 18, not 19.4. More students score in the teens than the average suggests, and a smaller group of high scorers pulls the average up. ACT reported the 19.4 for the class of 2025, when almost 1.4 million graduates, about 36% of the US class, took the test at least once.
So if you scored a 19, you are above the middle of the country, even though you are below the average. That is worth knowing before anyone tells you a 19 is "below average" as if it were a failing grade.
Do extra points still help at the top?
Not in the national table. A 34 and a 35 are both at 99%. Going from 33 to 36 moves you two percentile points. Going from 20 to 23 moves you fourteen.
That does not make a 35 pointless. Selective colleges compare you with the students they admitted, not with the country, and at those colleges the difference between a 33 and a 35 can put you on either side of their middle. The national table tells you where you stand. The college's own numbers tell you whether that is enough.
What ACT score do colleges want?
Find it in the college's Common Data Set, section C9. It lists the 25th and 75th percentile ACT Composite of students who enrolled. Search the college's name with "common data set", open the latest year, and scroll to C9.
| Your score against C9 | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| At or above the 75th percentile | Your score helps. Send it. |
| Between the 25th and 75th | Your score fits. The rest of the application decides. |
| Below the 25th | At a test-optional college, think hard before sending it. |
The same method works for the SAT, and we walk through it with examples in what is a good SAT score. When to hold a score back is in should you submit your score.
How much can a retake raise your ACT score?
Somewhere between one and two and a half points, depending on how you count. ACT's research found that students who first scored between 13 and 29 raised their Composite by about one point on a retake. For the class of 2025, the 34% who tested two or more times raised their superscore by 2.4 points on average. The superscore rises faster because it keeps your best section from each sitting. The mechanics are in ACT superscore.
Before you set a target, add up your three section scores. With three sections, you can be one section point from your next Composite or three, and how the ACT is scored shows how to tell which.
What ACT score equals an SAT score?
Our SAT vs ACT guide has the concordance table. A 28 lines up with about a 1300, a 31 with about a 1400, and a 34 with about a 1490. Use it to compare your own two practice results, not to decide which test is easier in general.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average ACT score?
19.4 for the class of 2025, according to ACT. The middle student scores lower, at 18: 52% of test takers score 18 or lower, because a smaller group of high scorers pulls the average up.
Is a 24 a good ACT score?
Nationally, 80% of test takers score 24 or lower, so a 24 is well above the middle. Whether it is good for you depends on your colleges. Compare it with the 25th and 75th percentiles in each college's Common Data Set, section C9.
What ACT score is in the top 10%?
A 28. ACT's national ranks show 91% of test takers score 28 or lower and 89% score 27 or lower, so a 28 or higher puts you in roughly the top tenth.
Is a 30 a good ACT score?
94% of test takers score 30 or lower, so a 30 is a strong score nationally. At highly selective colleges, check it against their Common Data Set range, where a 30 may sit below the middle.
Where do I find the ACT score a college wants?
In the college's Common Data Set, section C9, which lists the 25th and 75th percentile ACT Composite of enrolled students. Search the college name with the words common data set and open the latest year.
What ACT score equals a 1400 SAT?
About a 31, using the official concordance. A 1300 lines up with about a 28 and a 1490 with about a 34.