Understanding Your ACT Scores

On a national level, the average ACT Composite score for graduating high school students was 19.4 in 2024. This score represents the average performance of all ACT test-takers across the United States and can serve as a benchmark for interpreting individual results.

The ACT College and Career Readiness Benchmarks are scores on the ACT subject-area tests that indicate the level of achievement students need to have a 50% chance of earning a B or higher—or about a 75% chance of earning a C or higher—in corresponding credit-bearing first-year college courses. These courses include English composition, college algebra, introductory social science courses, and biology. The Benchmarks are based on research from a sample of 214 institutions and more than 230,000 students across the United States. They represent the median course placement values at these institutions and reflect a typical set of expectations for first-year college coursework nationwide.

The lowest ACT score a college will accept depends on the institution. While there is no universal minimum, many colleges accept students with ACT scores between 18 and 20, particularly at less selective or open-admission schools.

That said, ACT scores are only one part of the admissions process. Colleges also consider GPA, coursework rigor, extracurricular activities, essays, and letters of recommendation when making decisions.

You can send ACT scores through your MyACT account for $20 per test date, with an additional $30 archive fee for scores older than three years. If you’ve tested multiple times since September 2016, ACT automatically creates a Superscore using your highest section scores (English, math, and reading starting in 2025), and you can choose to send either your Superscore or scores from a specific test date.

Scores can be sent to colleges, scholarship agencies, and high schools using ACT codes, with reports available back to 2011 (or 2018 for high schools).

Sending Your Scores

ACT and SAT scores use different scales (ACT: 1–36, SAT: 400–1600), but they can be compared using official concordance tables developed by ACT and the College Board. These tables show how scores on one test generally relate to scores on the other—for example, an ACT score of 30 is roughly equivalent to an SAT score of about 1370—but they are estimates, not exact conversions. Colleges use concordance to fairly evaluate applicants who submit different tests, and both exams are accepted equally.

View the Official Concordance Tables