Historical ACT Percentiles from 2016 to Today: Data-Driven Insights for Your College Application

A high ACT score isn’t just a personal achievement. It’s a valuable tool for your college application because it communicates a great deal of data to the admissions counselors about you as a student. Standardized tests like the ACT examine so much more than your general knowledge; they’re a way for you to tangibly demonstrate skills in problem-solving, working under pressure, making inferences and drawing conclusions from data, and solving equations. In other words, they’re a shorthand for demonstrating the skills you’ll need to succeed in a college environment. 

How Colleges Use ACT Scores

College admissions counselors use your standardized test scores as a common measure that allows admissions offices to compare applicants from different schools and educational backgrounds. While grades and extracurricular activities offer insight into a student’s long-term performance and interests, test scores give a snapshot of their ability to handle college-level coursework. Admissions counselors may also use these scores to assess strengths in specific subject areas, predict potential academic success, and determine eligibility for merit-based scholarships. 

Since these scores are used for comparison purposes, you need to understand how they’re used to create comparisons. Your score is important, but so is how it ranks compared to other people. That’s your percentile. ACT percentiles demonstrate how a student’s score compares to others. 

For example, scoring in the 75th percentile means performing better than 75% of test-takers. These percentiles are reported for each section of the ACT (English, Math, Reading, and Science) as well as for the Composite score, which is the average of the four section scores. They are calculated based on the scores of all students who took the ACT within a specific testing year, providing a clear picture of a student’s relative performance.

Understanding ACT Scores

Before we look at percentiles and how they’ve changed, we’ll briefly touch on how the ACT is scored. The ACT is currently undergoing changes, so how your test is scored varies based on whether the test you took had a mandatory Science section or not. Each of the sections on the ACT is scored on a scale of 1 to 36, and these scores are averaged to calculate a composite score, which also ranges from 1 to 36. The composite score reflects overall performance across all tested areas. 

Each section’s raw score, which is the number of correct answers, is converted to a scaled score to account for variations in difficulty between different test versions. The ACT does not penalize for incorrect answers, encouraging test-takers to attempt every question. In addition to the core sections, students can choose to take the optional writing test, which is scored separately on a scale of 2 to 12 and does not affect the composite score. 

Composite ACT Percentiles From 2016 to Today

	ACT Percentiles
Score	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016
34-36	99+	99+	99+	99+	99+	99+	99+	99+	99+
33	98	98	98	98	97	98	98	98	98
32	97	97	97	96	96	97	96	97	97
31	96	95	96	95	94	95	95	95	96
30	94	94	94	93	92	93	93	93	94
29	93	92	93	90	90	91	91	91	92
28	91	90	90	88	88	88	88	88	89
27	88	87	88	85	85	85	85	85	86
26	86	85	85	82	82	82	82	82	83
25	83	81	81	78	78	78	78	78	79
24	79	78	77	74	74	74	74	73	74
23	75	74	72	70	70	69	69	68	69
22	71	69	68	64	65	64	64	63	64
21	66	64	63	59	60	58	58	57	58
20	61	59	57	53	54	52	52	51	51
19	55	53	51	47	48	46	46	44	45
18	49	47	45	41	42	40	40	38	39
17	43	41	37	35	36	33	34	31	32
16	37	35	29	28	30	27	27	25	26
15	30	28	21	22	24	20	21	19	19
14	23	22	13	16	17	14	15	13	14
13	16	14	7	10	11	9	9	7	8
12	8	8	3	5	6	4	4	3	4
11	3	3	1	2	2	1	1	1	2
10 and below	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Data sources: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016

Changes in ACT Percentiles from 2016 to Present

ACT percentiles provide a clear picture of how a student’s score compares to others, and these figures have shown slight shifts over time. Examining trends from 2016 through 2024 reveals patterns that reflect changes in test participation, student preparation, and external factors like the COVID-19 pandemic. 

2016-2017: Stable Baselines

In this cycle, ACT percentiles remained relatively stable, providing a clear benchmark for students and admissions counselors. High scores consistently occupied the top percentiles. For instance, a composite score of 34-36 placed students above 99% of their peers. A score of 31 placed a student around the 96th percentile, meaning they outperformed 96% of test-takers. These years provided colleges with a reliable framework to evaluate applicants, and students began using these benchmarks to gauge their competitiveness.

2018-2019: Consistency in Percentiles

During this period, percentiles remained largely unchanged. A 33 still represented the 98th percentile, and a 30 hovered around the 94th percentile. The consistency during these years suggested that student preparation strategies and test familiarity had stabilized. This allowed admissions offices to rely on ACT scores as a steady measure of academic readiness. As more test-takers became familiar with the exam format, variations in percentile rankings became minimal.

2020-2021: Pandemic Disruptions

The COVID-19 pandemic led to significant disruptions in standardized testing. With many test centers closing or limiting capacity, fewer students were able to take the ACT. This smaller testing pool raised questions about whether the remaining test-takers were a more self-selected group of higher-achieving students. Despite these uncertainties, percentiles held relatively steady. For example, a score of 32 continued to represent the 96th or 97th percentile, while a 28 remained at approximately the 88th percentile. However, the reduced number of test-takers prompted many colleges to adopt test-optional policies, changing how scores were weighed in the admissions process. 

2022-2023: Stabilization Amid Test-Optional Policies

By this time, most test centers had reopened, but the number of test-takers remained lower than pre-pandemic levels due to the continued rise of test-optional policies. Despite the changes in participation, the percentile rankings showed little variation– even with the changes to the test itself that began to roll out in 2023. A score of 34-36 continued to place students in the top 1%, while a 29 remained in the 90th percentile range. Colleges began to adjust to the long-term presence of test-optional applications, but strong ACT scores still provided a significant advantage for students applying to selective programs or merit-based scholarships.

2024-Today: Continued Reliability of ACT Percentiles

The most recent data reflects ongoing consistency in ACT percentiles. A 34-36 remains in the 99th percentile, while a 31 continues to represent the 96th percentile. This stability suggests that the ACT remains a reliable measure of student performance despite changing testing policies and changes to the ACT’s format. As more colleges reinstate standardized test requirements, students with strong ACT scores can use them to bolster their applications and stand out in competitive applicant pools.

Using ACT Percentiles as Benchmarks

ACT percentiles serve as a useful benchmark for setting and reaching academic goals. Understanding how scores translate to percentiles helps students identify their strengths and areas for improvement. By comparing your performance against historical data, you can gauge your competitiveness and adjust your study plans accordingly.

Knowing your target schools’ expectations will also help you with setting goals. A 27 might seem like a good score generally– after all, that’s in the above average score range and is about eight points higher than the national average. But a highly selective school might typically take candidates in the 95th percentile or above, so turning that 27 into a 31 or higher will really help your chances of getting in. 

Improving Your ACT Percentile 

So now that you know a bit about where your goals should be, what can you do to get yourself there? Improving ACT scores takes time, dedication, and an effective study strategy. You need to practice regularly, but just practice isn’t enough. You need to be able to identify your weak areas, learn about test-taking strategies, and analyze your mistakes. And that’s hard to do on your own!

But when you take an ACT prep class, you don’t have to do it alone. When I started Prep Expert, I wanted to help students reach their full potential, and I knew they needed expert help to do so. When you take an ACT prep course with us, your teacher scored in that 99th percentile. They know the test inside and out, and they know how to spot patterns in mistakes and build study plans to challenge your weak areas and grow your strengths. And they’ll teach you all the test-taking techniques to let you perform at your best on test day. We offer several classes for each ACT test date, so don’t wait– take a look at our ACT courses today and get ready to rise through the rankings!