ACT Scoring Guide

Understanding standardized test scoring, like ACT scores, can be really complicated. You might know that the ACT is scored from 1-36– but how do you get there? There’s a lot more than 36 questions on the test! Here at PrepExpert, we know that the students who get the best scores are the ones who don’t just have a lot of knowledge in general; they’re the students who go in armed with specific knowledge about how to take the test. That means knowing where that score comes from and what goes into it. With this guide, you’ll understand everything about ACT scoring, from what gets reported to schools to how to use your ACT score to improve your test taking capabilities and get an even higher composite. (What’s a composite? That’s the first thing you need to know!)

The Basics of ACT Scoring: The Composite

Your ACT is scored on a scale of 1-36, and the primary way this score is communicated to you is called your composite score. The composite is based on the average of your scores from the tests you had to take. For most students, that’s English, Reading, Math, and Science. However, if you took the Enhanced ACT where Science is optional, then your Science score is not included in the composite. The composite score is what you need to understand for admissions. While schools might consider your individual scores and sub-scores, especially for competitive majors, the composite is the first thing they’ll see.

ACT Scores: Detailed Results

One of the most important elements of the ACT score report is the detailed results the report gives you. The ACT sections are not composed of random questions; instead, each question serves to demonstrate your ability to excel in a particular area of the overall subject. Understanding these subject domains lets you identify your strengths and weaknesses, and lets you know what to study so that you can score higher the next time. 

Reading

For the reading section, five scores are reported; your overall score, three reporting category scores, and an Understanding Complex Texts indicator that reports information from across the test, including the other English portions. Unlike the other scores, the Understanding Complex Texts indicator only ranks students as Below Proficient, Proficient, or Above Proficient.  Colleges use this to judge your ability to make inferences that bridge gaps through content areas and see how you connect ideas. 

The reporting category scores are: 

• Key Ideas and Details is about 52%-60% of the test, and requires you to analyze the central Idas and themes of the text, as well as draw inferences and understand the relationships between events in the text.
• Craft and Structure is about 25%-30% of the test, and the questions ask you to analyze word choice, text structure, and determine meanings and perspectives. 
• Integration of Knowledge and Ideas is about 13%-23% of the test, and will test you on your ability to understand the construction of arguments and logical reasoning. You’ll need to know how to understand claims and identify facts and opinions.

English

The ACT English test evaluates your ability to understand and apply the conventions of standard written English while also assessing your rhetorical skills. Your performance is reflected in multiple scores, including an overall English score and three reporting category scores, which break down your strengths and weaknesses in different areas of the test.

The reporting category scores are:

• Production of Writing makes up about 29–32% of the test. This category examines how well you can understand and improve the effectiveness of a piece of writing. Knowledge of Language makes up about 15–17% of the test. You’ll need to recognize how different language choices affect meaning and ensure that writing is concise and precise.
• Conventions of Standard English makes up about 52–55% of the test. This is the most heavily weighted category and tests on topics such as subject-verb agreement, pronoun usage, modifier placement, and proper punctuation.

Math

The Math exam reports 9 scores: The overall score and eight sub-scores. Five of the sub-scores add up to the Preparing for Higher Math score, so don’t get confused! The reporting areas for Math are:

• Preparing for Higher Math is about 57%-60% of the exam, and tests your ability to solve equations in five areas of math, including number and quantity equations, algebra, functions, geometry, and statistics and probability. These areas are each reported individually so you will know exactly what to work on. 
• Integrating Essential Skills is about 43-45% of the exam. This category examines how well you can synthesize and apply your understanding of math to complex topics. 
• Modeling questions are found in both sections of the Math test. For these questions, you will produce, interpret, and evaluate models. 

Optional Tests: Science and Writing

By 2026, Science will be optional for all versions of the ACT, no matter how or where you take the test. And the Writing portion is already optional for all students. The Writing portion is different from all other sections of the ACT, because it’s an essay, not a multiple choice test. The Science section, however, remains just as it was– a multiple choice test. Because these two tests have different formats, they are scored differently.

The ACT essay is scored from 2-12. In addition to the overall score, the essay has four domain sub-scores, which are also scored from 2-12. The overall score comes from the average of these four domain scores. Your essay is read by two graders, who assign it a score from 1-6 in each of the domain categories: Ideas and Analysis, Development and Support, Organization, and Language Use and Conventions. The ACT provides a rubric for these scores, so you can see what the graders are looking for before you go in and take the test. 

The ACT Science section is scored from 1-36, just like the other multiple choice sections. This test has three question categories that are reported in addition to the overall score:

• Interpretation of Data, comprising 40%-50% of the questions. This category asks you to analyze data presented in different formats, like tables, graphs, and diagrams; you may be asked to recognize trends, reason mathematically, extrapolate information, and perform other types of analysis and interpretation. 
• Scientific Investigation, comprising 20%-30% of the questions. With this category, you will be asked about experimental tools, procedures, and experimental design— so you’ll need to know how to identify controls and variables, as well as modify and compare experiments. 
• Evaluation of Models, Inferences, and Experimental Results, comprising 25%-35% of the questions. These questions ask you to form conclusions and predictions based on data, as well as judge the validity of information derived from data.

Improving Your ACT Scores

So now that you understand where the ACT scores come from, the next step is learning how to use them. Ultimately, you want a high score to support your college applications, which means that you need to develop a strategy to get that score. You could just take the test over and over, hoping that through sheer repetition you’ll improve… but honestly, I think that’s a waste of time. Instead, you should create a focused plan of action, and the ACT itself can actually help you with that.

When you take the ACT and receive your score report, remember that you get more than just the numbers; you get a full breakdown of the types of questions you got right and wrong. And when you work with an ACT teacher who’s in the top 1% of all ACT test-takers, you get to work with someone who knows the test intimately. They can help you identify patterns in your test-taking, pinpoint weak areas, and utilize your score reports to develop a targeted study plan. By analyzing your performance data, these experts can guide you in concentrating on the subjects and question types that will most improve your scores. Consistent practice, combined with professional insights, can lead to significant score improvements and increase your competitiveness in the college admissions process– and that’s what you’ll get here with us. Check out our list of ACT course offerings and get ready to earn the high ACT scores you need!