ACT Score Percentiles | How They Work

What exactly are ACT score percentiles? How do they work? Believe it or not, these percentiles play a role in what school you’ll get into eventually. Let’s discuss why.

Interested in knowing the average ACT score in your home state?

What Are ACT Score Percentiles?

Your ACT score percentile rank is a metric that compares your ACT score with everyone else who took that test administration.

Your percentile zeroes in on how many people you scored equal to or higher than. The ACT gives students a percentile ranking for their composite scores, as well as the four subject-area scores.

However, your ACT score percentile is not like a grade out of 100. It’s a comparison between you and the other students who took that test. This is an important distinction that many students understandably mistake.

How ACT Score Percentiles Work

For example, if your test ranking is in the 70th percentile, that means you individually scored the same as or higher than 70% of your fellow test-takers. It doesn’t automatically mean that you correctly answered exactly 70% of the test questions.

In reality, because of the ACT’s trickier nature, if you did correctly answer 70% of the questions, you’d be approximately in the 75th percentile.

Where ACT Score Percentiles Currently Are

Now that you know about percentile rankings, let’s go over what the ACT percentiles actually are, both for composite scores and individual section scores.

You can use the following chart to find percentile rankings for your ACT composite score and for each section (English, Math, Reading, and Science).

To find your percentile, look for your score between 1 and 36 on the left-hand side, and then slide over to the correct subject area or composite to see your percentile ranking. For example, a composite score of 30 has a 93rd percentile ranking.

However, that score of 30 only equates to an 86th percentile ranking for Reading section scores. Again, it’s not a one to one ratio between scored points and score percentiles. Bear that in mind moving forward.

Score	English	Math	Reading	Science	Composite
36	100	100	100	100	100
35	99	99	98	99	99
34	96	99	96	98	99
33	94	98	94	97	98
32	92	97	91	96	96
31	91	96	89	95	95
30	89	94	86	93	93
29	88	93	84	92	90
28	86	91	82	90	88
27	84	88	80	88	85
26	82	84	77	85	82
25	79	79	74	82	78
24	75	74	71	77	74
23	71	70	66	71	70
22	65	65	61	64	64
21	60	61	55	58	59
20	55	58	50	51	53
19	49	54	44	45	47
18	45	49	39	39	41
17	41	42	34	32	35
16	37	33	29	26	28
15	32	21	24	19	22
14	25	11	19	14	16
13	19	4	14	10	10
12	15	1	10	7	5
11	11	1	5	4	2
10	7	1	3	3	1
9	3	1	1	1	1
8	2	1	1	1	1
7	1	1	1	1	1
6	1	1	1	1	1
5	1	1	1	1	1
4	1	1	1	1	1
3	1	1	1	1	1
2	1	1	1	1	1
1	1	1	1	1	1

Why Percentiles Matter

Colleges use percentiles to compare applicants against each other during application season.

If you score in the 95th percentile, for example, schools will take you quite seriously. Why? Because you’ve scored better than 95% of the students who took the ACT nationwide.

We’ve said it before: college admissions are like building a sports team. it’s all about building the best possible class every year. The higher quality students a school can attract, the better its reputation grows, the more revenue it can generate for itself.

Keeping an eye on your percentile ranking and composite score can give you a good idea about what kinds of schools you’ll likely have a better chance of being admitted to or not.

For more test strategies, college admissions, and scholarship application tips sign up for our FREE classes happening right now!

ACT Score Percentiles | How They Work

What Are ACT Score Percentiles?

How ACT Score Percentiles Work

Where ACT Score Percentiles Currently Are

Why Percentiles Matter

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Written by Prep Expert

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Score	English	Math	Reading	Science	Composite
36	100	100	100	100	100
35	99	99	98	99	99
34	96	99	96	98	99
33	94	98	94	97	98
32	92	97	91	96	96
31	91	96	89	95	95
30	89	94	86	93	93
29	88	93	84	92	90
28	86	91	82	90	88
27	84	88	80	88	85
26	82	84	77	85	82
25	79	79	74	82	78
24	75	74	71	77	74
23	71	70	66	71	70
22	65	65	61	64	64
21	60	61	55	58	59
20	55	58	50	51	53
19	49	54	44	45	47
18	45	49	39	39	41
17	41	42	34	32	35
16	37	33	29	26	28
15	32	21	24	19	22
14	25	11	19	14	16
13	19	4	14	10	10
12	15	1	10	7	5
11	11	1	5	4	2
10	7	1	3	3	1
9	3	1	1	1	1
8	2	1	1	1	1
7	1	1	1	1	1
6	1	1	1	1	1
5	1	1	1	1	1
4	1	1	1	1	1
3	1	1	1	1	1
2	1	1	1	1	1
1	1	1	1	1	1

Score	English	Math	Reading	Science	Composite
36	100	100	100	100	100
35	99	99	98	99	99
34	96	99	96	98	99
33	94	98	94	97	98
32	92	97	91	96	96
31	91	96	89	95	95
30	89	94	86	93	93
29	88	93	84	92	90
28	86	91	82	90	88
27	84	88	80	88	85
26	82	84	77	85	82
25	79	79	74	82	78
24	75	74	71	77	74
23	71	70	66	71	70
22	65	65	61	64	64
21	60	61	55	58	59
20	55	58	50	51	53
19	49	54	44	45	47
18	45	49	39	39	41
17	41	42	34	32	35
16	37	33	29	26	28
15	32	21	24	19	22
14	25	11	19	14	16
13	19	4	14	10	10
12	15	1	10	7	5
11	11	1	5	4	2
10	7	1	3	3	1
9	3	1	1	1	1
8	2	1	1	1	1
7	1	1	1	1	1
6	1	1	1	1	1
5	1	1	1	1	1
4	1	1	1	1	1
3	1	1	1	1	1
2	1	1	1	1	1
1	1	1	1	1	1

Score	English	Math	Reading	Science	Composite
36	100	100	100	100	100
35	99	99	98	99	99
34	96	99	96	98	99
33	94	98	94	97	98
32	92	97	91	96	96
31	91	96	89	95	95
30	89	94	86	93	93
29	88	93	84	92	90
28	86	91	82	90	88
27	84	88	80	88	85
26	82	84	77	85	82
25	79	79	74	82	78
24	75	74	71	77	74
23	71	70	66	71	70
22	65	65	61	64	64
21	60	61	55	58	59
20	55	58	50	51	53
19	49	54	44	45	47
18	45	49	39	39	41
17	41	42	34	32	35
16	37	33	29	26	28
15	32	21	24	19	22
14	25	11	19	14	16
13	19	4	14	10	10
12	15	1	10	7	5
11	11	1	5	4	2
10	7	1	3	3	1
9	3	1	1	1	1
8	2	1	1	1	1
7	1	1	1	1	1
6	1	1	1	1	1
5	1	1	1	1	1
4	1	1	1	1	1
3	1	1	1	1	1
2	1	1	1	1	1
1	1	1	1	1	1