what's a good act essay score

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By submitting my email address. i certify that i am 13 years of age or older, agree to recieve marketing email messages from the princeton review, and agree to terms of use., act scoring chart: calculate your score.

ACT scoring doesn't have to be a mystery.  Learn how the answers you get right on the ACT translate to your overall score. We'll explain the ACT grading scale and show you a sample ACT score chart. 

Is the ACT scored on a curve?

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ACT Tips: Pacing and Personal Order of Difficulty

On each  section of the ACT , the number of correct answers converts to a scaled score of 1–36. ACT works hard to adjust the grading scale of each test at each administration as necessary to make all scaled scores comparable, smoothing out any differences in level of difficulty across test dates.

There is no truth to any one ACT test date being “easier” than the others, but you can expect to see slight variations in the scale from test to test.

Calculate Your ACT Score

Act raw score vs scale score.

Here’s how ACT scoring works. You’re given a point for every question you get right (there’s no penalty or point deduction for wrong answers). The total number of questions you get right on each test (English, Math, Reading, and Science) equals your raw score . Your raw score for each test is then converted into a scale score (1–36).  

Composite Score

Your composite score, or overall ACT score, is the average of your scores on each test. Add up your English, Math, Reading, and Science scores and divide by 4. (Round to the nearest whole number). Learn more about what your ACT scores mean .

Sample ACT Scoring Chart

This is a sample ACT raw score conversion grid from the free test ACT makes available on its website. Keep in mind, the ACT score chart for each test administration is different, so this one should be used only as an example.

Read More: What's a Good ACT Score?

How is the ACT Writing Test scored?

The writing test score is a little more complicated. If you take the ACT Plus Writing (which will ask you to write an essay), your writing will be evaluated by two readers. Both readers score your essay on a scale of 1–6 in four different areas (learn more about the ACT essay here ). The ACT essay score will appear on your score report on a scale from 2-12. ACT also reports an English Language Arts (ELA) score out of 36, which represents your overall performance on the English, reading, and writing tests, but this value is NOT included in your ACT Composite Score calculation. No ELA score is reported if you do not choose to take the ACT With Essay.

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• March 28, 2018

What is a Good ACT Writing Score?

With the writing portion of the ACT being optional, students are often asking what is a good ACT writing score and whether or not it’s really even necessary to apply to college. Just because the essay is optional does not mean it should be disregarded entirely (and you should definitely prep for it on your own or in your ACT review course ). A good number of colleges require the optional essay to be completed, making it, shall we say, not so optional.

If you are planning on applying to your dream school that requires the writing component of the essay, it’s imperative for you to understand what is a good ACT writing score, as it is graded a bit differently from the rest of the ACT sections.

How the ACT Writing Section is Scored

Understanding, first, how the ACT writing section is scored is the first step to grasping what is a good ACT writing score. The ACT writing section is graded differently from the other ACT sections. The ACT is graded from a scale of 1-6 in four different categories by two different graders. You will then get a score back that is an average of these four scores, on a scale of 1-12. This ACT score range from 1-12 is a change from the September 2015 – June 2016 ACT writing scores, which were graded on a scale of 1-36.

This may be a bit confusing, but we don’t need to get too deep in the woods on scoring, because what we’re really after here is what is a good ACT score.

What Is a Good ACT Score Then?

A good ACT score is 10 or more. You should aim for at least an 8 on the essay to remain competitive.

For super competitive schools, a 10 or more is going to make your application to your dream school more bulletproof. Of course, a good ACT score also depends on the applicant pool at the school that you are applying to and how you compared to these scores. Let’s have a quick look at the ACT writing percentiles and what this means in terms of good, relative ACT writing scores.

ACT Writing Score Percentiles

ACT percentiles show you how you stack up against the competition, which is everyone else who took the ACT. Your ACT percentile number is what percentage of ACT writers got a lower score than you. If, for example, your ACT writing percentile is in the 75th percentile, then that means 75% of all ACT test takers received a lower ACT writing score than you did. Ivy league schools and other extremely competitive colleges and universities are going to expect a writing score that is at least in the 97th percentile. This means you will have scored higher than 97% of all ACT test takers, which, according to our chart, equates to at least a writing score of 10.

ACT Writing Score Percentile Chart

[table id=16 /]

What if the Schools I Apply to Don’t Require the ACT Writing Section?

Even if the school you are applying to does not require the ACT writing section, there is a still a general idea that a good ACT writing score can still be helpful and should match or exceed the overall ACT percentile expected for admissions at the school. If most students who are accepted into your chosen school have an ACT score of 29, then that falls within the 92nd percentile of composite scores for the ACT, which is about a 9 on the ACT writing. This is not a hard rule, but rather something you should aim for if you do take the ACT writing section and it doesn’t end up being required at one or more of the schools that you are applying to.

What if You Think Your ACT Writing Score is Wrong?

If you recently took the ACT with writing and found your writing score to be much lower than expected (you didn’t spend all that time in your ACT prep book for nothing, right?), then read on in regards to what options you have moving forward:

First off, it is quite rare for the ACT, Inc to make a mistake in grading your writing score. That said, it does happen. And if you have a good hunch that your ACT writing score is not truly yours, then there are some things that you can do if you believe any of the following scenarios is happening to you:

• You received someone else’s score
• Writing the essay with pen instead of pencil

Here are the two things that you can do if you don’t think you received the correct ACT Writing Score:

1. Order a Test Information Release:

This information will show you what you answered on the ACT and what the correct answers are. You will also receive the rubric used to grade your ACT writing. Here is the form to fill out for a Test Information Release.

2. Score Verification:

Requesting score verification, also known as hand scoring, can be done after ordering your Test Information Release and you still believe the exam was graded incorrectly. This is usually done after the TIR because the TIR is much cheaper and will confirm whether or not you believe the grading was incorrect on your ACT. Here is the form to fill out for hand scoring.

Unlike the SAT , if you request the Score Verification and they find errors that aren’t in your favor, you can rest assured that your score will not go down as a result.

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Your Magical Guide to Scoring a Perfect 12 on the ACT Essay

Look, I know that you might not be super excited to write the ACT Essay . In fact, your dread of the ACT Writing section may mean that you’re not even that excited about taking the ACT test .

But how would you feel if I told you that I’ve totally figured out how to change that?

Yup. Today, instead of talking about how to get a perfect 12 on the ACT Essay, we’re actually going to talk about how you can succeed at the universe’s all-time greatest school: Hogwarts .

Little-known fact: the 12 things you need to do to succeed at Hogwarts are exactly the 12 things you need to do to get a perfect 12 on the ACT Writing section .

Spooky, right?

Let’s take a quick look at them before diving in deeper:

• Know what you’re getting into.
• Take a look around the Hogwarts Express.
• Be assured that you CAN be 1 in 10,000.
• Get yourself a time-turner (but only if necessary!).
• Make sure you give the Sorting Hat options.
• Be a Gryffindor and take a risk!
• Be a Ravenclaw and be clever.
• Be a Hufflepuff and keep going.
• Be a Slytherin and be crafty.
• Know that the way you say something is just as important as what you say.
• Go into your O.W.L.s with a plan.
• Take a page from J.K. Rowling’s book and refuse to give up!

  Read on, future Griffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs! (Slytherins, I think we all know your deal. Go talk to a snake or something.)

How to Use This Post

So what can you expect from this post? We’ll look at an overview of the ACT Writing section, then go into how it’s scored and the skills it tests. We’ll compare the ACT Essay to the SAT Essay and help you decide whether you should take the ACT with Writing or without. If you do decide to take it, we have prompts and grading advice for you to use, as well as point-by-point guides to raising your score 2, 3, or 4 points. Finally, we’ll finish off by looking at a template for a 12-scoring essay.

If you’re new to the essay, you’ll want to start at the beginning with the overview of ACT Writing and possibly even try your first practice essay today with one of the prompts here.

On the other hand, if you already have some experience with the ACT Essay, you may want to start with the guide to improving your score, or even with the template for a high-scoring essay.

Just to make it easier on you, here are links to some of the exciting places in this post where you can start your journey to the perfect ACT Essay!

• Quiz: Should You Take the ACT with Writing?
• Template for a Perfect 12 on the ACT Essay
• The Step-by-Step Guide to Getting a Perfect Score

Table of Contents

The least you should know about act writing, how is the act essay scored, skills tested in the act writing section, act vs sat essays, giving the sorting hat options: should i take act writing, act writing prompts, for studious ravenclaws: how can you grade your practice act essay, act writing test struggles: be a hufflepuff and keep going, be as crafty as a slytherin: the ultimate guide to improving your act writing score by 2, 3, or 4 points, how to get a perfect 12 on the act essay, act essay template: guide to the perfect essay (aka go into your o.w.l.s with a plan).

Before you sit down with your quill and parchment, there are a few things that you definitely need to know about ACT Writing, even if you’re taking the exam tomorrow.

First of all, it’s the last section on the ACT (okay, that phrasing might be a little confusing). This means that after you show off your skills reading and interpreting passages, calculating the square root of x, correcting dangling modifiers, and proving your aptitude for Potions in the Science section , you’re going to sit down and write an essay, just to cap it all off.

The ACT Essay is not required; however, it’s a good idea to take it, for reasons we’ll look at a little later on. It’s important to realize this in any case, because you’ll need to register for the ACT with Writing to make sure you have the chance to take it on the official exam.

Once you’re facing the ACT Essay, what will you see? One prompt in your test booklet, which you’ll respond to on a provided answer sheet, in No. 2 pencil (no mechanical pencils here).

The essay is an exercise in both persuasion and analysis. Students are given three perspectives on an issue and asked to “evaluate and analyze” the three perspectives, “state and develop” their own perspective, and “explain the relationship” between their perspective and the given perspectives. They can choose to agree with one of the provided viewpoints or may come up with their own.

Timing for the ACT Essay

From the time you turn the page in your test booklet to the ACT Essay prompt, you’ll have exactly 40 minutes to write your essay. In this time, you’ll have a variety of tasks to accomplish: read the instructions, the prompt, the sample opinions (we’ll get to this a little later), brainstorm, outline and write your essay, and proofread it.

Unlike other sections on the ACT, the Essay is scored between 2 and 12, rather than between 1 and 36. Two graders will individually score students from 1-6 on the four domains: Ideas and Analysis, Development and Support, Organization, and Language Use and Conventions. These scores will be added together between the two graders, and the final ACT essay score from 2-12 is an AVERAGE of all the domain scores . Students will still receive an ELA score, which combines the essay score with their score on the ACT English multiple-choice section.

ACT Writing Subscores

Your ACT Writing score is made up of 4 subscores, in Ideas and Analysis, Development and Support, Organization, and Language Use and Conventions. Each of two graders will give you a score from 1-6 in each domain (giving you the opportunity to obtain a total score from 2-12 in each domain). Your four scores are then averaged to give you an overall score from 2-12. Your score report will reveal each of your domain scores, so you will get to see how much of an impact your grammar had on your composite score versus your ideas. You’re going to get a fair amount of feedback on why your essay received the score it did.

Who Does the ACT Writing Scoring?

Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, of course! No, sorry. In all seriousness: teachers trying to make the big bucks during their copious free time; retired teachers who want another income stream/to help humanity; experts in test prep who don’t have conflicting interests…you get the idea.

What if One of the Graders Doesn’t Like Me?

Well, first of all, I think you mean, “What if one of them doesn’t like your essay?”, but I get it. We take critiques of our writing rather personally. However, the ACT has a safety net in place for such a situation. If the graders disagree on your essay by more than one point on any domain score, a third grader (don’t worry, not a third-grader) will be brought in to settle the dispute.

How Is My Essay Graded?

Since, as we’ve seen, the ACT Essay is not graded on how much your graders like you, how is it graded? Using this very specific ACT Essay rubric . Again, you’ll be scored from 1-6 in each of the four categories (Ideas and Analysis, Development and Support, Organization, and Language Use and Conventions) by two graders, whose scores are then averaged.

Looking Around the Hogwarts Express: What Does my Score Mean Compared to Other Students’?

What is a good ACT Writing score ?

Well. It’s hard to quantify exactly what a “good” score on the ACT Writing section is, just as it’s hard to quantify exactly what a good ACT score is, as many factors can influence what you consider “good.”

With that said.

One of the best ways to see how you well you’ve scored objectively is to look at your ACT Writing percentiles. Your percentile score describes the percentage of students who scored lower than you on the essay. For example, if you’re in the 99th percentile, congrats! You scored better than 99 out of every 100 students taking the exam.

A quick note on decimals in percentiles: obviously, there is no such thing as .37 of a person (or if there was, I don’t think he/she/they would be taking the ACT). What this means is that you have to look at your score in a broader pool. For example, if you scored an 11 on ACT Writing, you scored better than 9,937 out of every 1,000 students taking the test.

Can You Be “The Chosen One”?

I know that a score of 12 = 100th percentile is confusing. You can’t score better than 100 out of every 100 students, right? You are one of those 100 students, after all.

All this means is that the decimal is so close to 1 that the ACT has rounded up. It’s likely that the actual situation is that those students scoring a 12 on the ACT Essay scored better than 9,999 out of every 10,000 students.

That alone should show you how tough it is to get a 12 on ACT Writing.

But can it be done? Well, someone has to be that 1 person in 10,000, right?

Why can’t it be you?

Let’s take a look at how you can get there, after we finish covering ACT Writing 101.

Ordering a Time-Turner: ACT Essay Rescores

Sometimes you’ll take a test, look at your score, and think “this can’t be right.” If this happens to you on the ACT Essay, you can request a rescore.

ACT scores for essays are graded by two professional scorers. Both of them use the ACT’s official Writing Test Rubric . The rescore follows the exact same procedure, but with two new scorers. If the two new people who score your ACT Essay get a different score than the original examiners, your ACT score will be updated. If your score changes, the new scorers can choose to raise your score from the original score you received, or lower it. There’s also a chance that the new scoring session could get the same result a second time. In that case, your ACT Essay score won’t change.

How Do You Request an ACT Essay Rescore, and How Much Does It Cost?

To get your ACT Essay rescored, submit a request for a rescore in writing. Your request will need to include the following: your name, as it appeared on your ACT exam registration forms, the ID on your ACT registration account, and the month, day, year, and location of your exam. You’ll also need to include a check for $50 made out to ACT Student Services. All rescore requests must be sent no later than three months after you received your initial ACT scores.

Written requests should be mailed to:

The ACT’s scoring team will notify you of any score changes within 3-5 weeks of the request.

Things to Consider Before Requesting a Rescore

Rescores are expensive and time-consuming. If you’re thinking of getting your ACT Essay rescored (or getting a rescore on the rest of the test), you want to be sure that it’s worth it. There’s a chance your score could go down. And if it does, the new, lower score will become your official score. Your score could also stay the same, which would mean you wasted $50 per rescore request.

As we’ve seen, your essay will be scored in four different categories: Ideas and Analysis, Development and Support, Organization, and Language Use and Conventions. But what does that mean for you in terms of preparation? After all, few (if any) of us have taken classes on “Ideas and Analysis.”

What Are the Goals of the ACT Essay?

We can infer the “goals” of the ACT Essay (or rather, the skills it’s asking you to demonstrate) from the four ACT Essay rubric categories we’ve already gone over. Ideas and Analysis means that the scorers are looking for you to demonstrate critical thinking at a reasonably high level; rather than just being able to understand a series of opinions, the ACT Writing section wants you to interpret them and come up with your own thesis.

The Development and Support aspect tells us that the ACT Essay is evaluating your ability to craft a whole argument, rather than just a thesis statement. Again, it’s testing your critical reasoning skills: can you determine, in a limited timeframe, what makes for convincing evidence for your argument? The Organization category indicates that the ACT is also testing how clearly you can present this information in a short essay, in a way that makes sense not just to you, but also to the reader.

Finally, you can look on Language Use and Conventions as ACT English in practice. How’s your vocabulary and grammar? Can you write in an efficient and readable way? How eloquent (to an extent) can you be?

Or, in other words, your ACT essay has four major goals:

• Make judgments : the graders evaluate how well you understand the perspectives, and their implications, values and assumptions. Did you understand the question they presented to you? Did you pick a side? Did you understand the strengths and weaknesses of different perspectives on an issue?
• Develop a position : the graders evaluate how well you supported the argument you made in your essay. Did you give clear facts and relevant details that really helped your argument be more persuasive? Did you vary the types of evidence you used? Did you show the graders that you know the difference between assertion (just saying something) and evidence (showing why that assertion is true)? The more specific you can be, the more you show the graders how well you understood the topic and its controversy, which helps out your ‘make judgments’ criterion as well.
• Organization and focus : the graders evaluate how logically you present your ideas. Did you have a clear introduction, body, and conclusion? Are your body paragraphs ordered in a way that makes sense? Can the graders follow your train of thought clearly from beginning to end? Did you use transitions between and among your paragraphs to show the readers how they all link together? Did you stay on topic?
• Communicate clearly : the graders also look at how well you express yourself, in accordance with the rules of Standard Written English, a.k.a. “School, Work, and Business English,” as far as you’re concerned. Did you vary your sentence structure so that some sentences are short and others are long? Is your word choice effective? How is your grammar? If there are errors, are they particularly distracting? Can the readers still get your point or can they not understand what you’re saying?

Why Do Colleges Care About the ACT Essay?

Admissions officers are interested in your ACT Essay scores precisely because they demonstrate, to a certain extent, your skills in the above areas. No matter what you end up majoring in, critical reasoning skills, as well as writing skills, will end up being important. While it can be difficult to judge these skills based on one 40-minute essay, the four categories of the rubric and corresponding scores give admissions officers at least some sense of your experience and skill in these areas.

Where’s That Ideas and Analysis Class Again?

I know it seems like your education might not have prepared you for the ACT Essay. However, you’d be surprised at how much you already know. Your English classes will have taught you a lot about all four categories, while essays you’ve written for History, Social Studies, and even Science classes will have helped you develop skills in the areas of Development and Support and Organization. All the better if you’ve taken a class on persuasive writing or speeches.

How to Study for the ACT Essay Without Studying

I mean…you should do some specific studying for the ACT Essay! But know that you’re already preparing for the essay in your everyday life, even if you don’t know it. Every time you listen to someone’s opinion and evaluate it, every time you respond with your own opinion, you’re using the exact critical reasoning skills that the ACT Writing section tests.

If you’re still on the fence about whether or not to take the ACT at all, and take the SAT instead , comparing the two essays might help. While there are a lot of factors to take into consideration when making this decision, knowing the differences in the essays may just prove to be the tipping factor that helps you decide in favor of one test .

Both the ACT and the SAT each have one essay. The ACT gives you 40 minutes to write it, while the SAT gives you 50 minutes to write it. The essay is optional on both tests. Furthermore, the essay is always the last section on each exam (this hasn’t always been the case with the SAT, but it is now!).

So what is the difference between the two essays? Well, it’s the type of assignment you’ll get.

On the ACT, as we’ve seen, you’ll see three different opinions on a debatable topic; the essay prompt will ask you to evaluate them and come up with your own opinion.

On the other hand, the SAT gives you a rather long (650-700 word) passage to read, then asks you to evaluate how the author develops his or her argument. Unlike the ACT, you do not include your own opinion or arguments on the SAT Essay.

So how to choose?

If you’re good at coming up with an opinion and developing strong examples quickly, the ACT Essay’s the one for on you. But

if you’re better at analyzing other people’s writing (the kind of work you do for most literature essays, for example), the SAT’s the better way to go.

If you’ve decided to take the ACT: awesome! I get it, though—you have enough decisions to make without throwing one more on top of the pile!

Still, you will have to decide whether or not to take the ACT with Writing.

While we don’t have Madame Trelawney’s crystal ball (which, let’s face it, was pretty useless for the most part), we DO have a way to help you decide whether or not to take the ACT Essay section or not: our very own, expertly written quiz!  

“Should I Take the ACT Writing Test?” Test

Question 1 of 5

Question 2 of 5

Question 3 of 5

Question 4 of 5

Question 5 of 5

The Final Word: Be a Gryffindor and Take a Risk

The final answer is, you should probably take the test.   The vast majority of colleges don’t require writing, but the majority of highly competitive colleges do, which means if you aren’t 100% sure where you want to apply yet (and most juniors taking the ACT are not), you might be limiting your options if you don’t take the optional essay.

If you can spare the fee and feel you can get a good score, a decent ACT Writing score opens a lot of doors to you. It certainly doesn’t hurt your odds of being accepted into any school, but of course, every test-taker has different needs and realistically there are some situations where taking the ACT Writing Test may not be practical.

But if you are very uncomfortable with writing or don’t plan to apply to schools that require the essay, well, there’s no need to put yourself through another 40 minutes of agony.

Let’s get into a little more detail. By now, you already know that you’re going to be evaluating three different perspectives on a debatable issue.

But what does that look like in practice?

Glad you asked! Here’s a Magoosh example of an ACT Essay prompt and stimulus.

ACT Essay Prompt: Censorship

Almost since human beings began sharing ideas, the issue of censorship (officially suppressing ideas or writing) has been debated. Proponents of censorship argue, for example, that offensive material might morally corrupt children or that governments have the right to protect their national secrets. Opponents argue that censorship infringes on individual freedom and hinders progress. Censorship has long been an issue regarding books and papers; now, it has become a critical issue concerning the great amount of information on the Internet. Given the continued impact of censorship on various aspects of our lives, it is an issue worth examining.

Read and carefully consider these perspectives. Each suggests a particular way of thinking about the impact of censorship.

Perspective One

Selective censorship prevents children from being exposed to offensive material. It allows parents and caretakers to determine what material children are ready for and when they are ready based on their maturity level.

Perspective Two

Censorship intrudes upon freedom of the press and freedom of speech. Individuals have the right to learn about their world, both its positive and negative aspects, and express their ideas on it.

Perspective Three

Censorship should not be condoned because it places too much power in the hands of a few: no government or leadership system should be allowed to decide what information should reach the public.

Write a unified, coherent essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives on the impact of censorship on society. In your essay, be sure to:

• analyze and evaluate the perspectives given
• state and develop your own perspective on the issue
• explain the relationship between your perspective and those given

Your perspective may be in full agreement with any of the others, in partial agreement, or wholly different. Whatever the case, support your ideas with logical reasoning and detailed, persuasive examples.

…And that’s what an ACT Essay prompt looks like!

Want More ACT Essay Prompts?

If you went the extra mile and used one of the above prompts for practice, fantastic! What now, though? What do you do with this beautiful practice ACT essay you’ve just written?

The first thing to do is to edit it, particularly if you wrote it under timed conditions (remember: ACT Essay time = 40 minutes). Without the constraints of time, you may see points you wish you’d developed, examples that could have been better, or even ways in which you could have improved your thesis statement.

However, if you’re going to improve significantly, it’s best to get a helping hand for editing. English teachers are a great resource; guidance counselors may also have enough familiarity with the ACT to help edit your essays. In most high schools, one teacher or staff member is usually the point person for standardized tests, and they’re a good place to start.

They can also be useful when it comes to grading your essay. Of course, you can and should use the rubric to grade your essay yourself; however, on the official ACT exam, you’ll have two graders—neither of whom will be as hard (or as easy) on you as, well, you are!

After you’ve written a few practice essays (you can find even more prompts on full-length practice tests , which are a good idea to take regularly anyway!) and worked through scoring and edits with your designated ACT Writing expert, you may notice that you’re struggling in an area or two (or three, or four). That’s only natural—this is a new task for you, after all! And you may be relieved to find that several problems in particular crop up for students facing the ACT Writing test.

Where Most Students Struggle on the ACT Essay

In my experience, students struggle the most to:

• Pick an opinion to side with…
• …and to come up with creative examples to support it.

Notice that these are the first two categories of that good ol’ rubric, “Ideas and Analysis” and “Development and Support.” There are strategies you can use to work on your organization and language usage (and we’ll look at those in a little bit), but a lot of students just don’t trust their own ideas.

Choosing a Side

To help you with #1, Magoosh’s ACT expert David Recine did a little digging. Okay, a lot of digging. He called the ACT. Here’s what he found out:

There is a weird apparent contradiction between the ACT Essay requirements in the official ACT Essay score guide, and the requirements that appear in the ACT Essay examples on the official ACT website.

Remember how the ACT Essay prompt presents an issue and three opinions on the issue? Well, in the instructions for the sample ACT Essay prompt on the ACT website , it says you need to “analyze the relationship between your perspective and at least one other perspective .” Therein lies the contradiction. The official ACT Essay score guide emphasizes the importance of analyzing “multiple perspectives.”

So which is it? To find out, I contacted ACT customer service. The representative I spoke with said that the online essay prompt mentions “at least one perspective” because you need to analyze at least one of the three perspectives to have a chance at a score of more than 2. She then informed me that you need to analyze two or three of the given perspectives to have any chance at a score of 10 or higher. From there, ACT Customer service emphasized that including all three perspectives gives you the best possible chance at the full 12 points.

The customer service rep’s argument in favor of analyzing all three perspectives is supported in The Official ACT Prep Guide . Interestingly, the ACT Prep Guide’s prompts do not indicate that one perspective may be enough. Unlike the essay prompt on the ACT website, the writing instructions in the ACT OG tell you “evaluate multiple perspectives” and “evaluate perspectives given.”

So, if you want the best possible score (and who doesn’t?), you should include all three given perspectives — along with your own — in the new ACT Essay.

So that’s definitely something to keep in mind when you’re shaping your thesis statement.

Here’s some more food for thought, particularly if you’re aiming for that perfect 12 . Choose the option to provide your own perspective on the ACT essay, but only switch it up slightly.   Now, this is tricky. You can get a perfect score simply by completely agreeing with one of the three presented perspectives, and for the vast majority of students, this is the best course of action to make sure you don’t go completely off track and end up hurting your score. However, if you consider yourself to be a very strong writer, you might be able to truly impress by adding your own twist on the prompt. In most cases, the easiest way to do this is to narrow the scope of one of the perspectives. For example, if you look at ACT’s official sample essay #5 , you’ll see that the graders applauded the student for evaluating the perspectives through the “lens of a particular ideology”: capitalism.

The prompt is about a larger issue–the positive or negative impact of “intelligent machines” in our society–but this student has narrowed the scope, and in doing so, was able to provide a specific compelling argument that didn’t try to address all of life in a five-paragraph essay.

So for you ACT Writing superstars out there who are looking for a score in the 11 to 12 range, take these key tips to heart and get practicing with ACT Writing prompts. The new ACT essay prompt is tough, but practicing with sample prompts and coming up with arguments on the fly will help!

Examples on the ACT Essay

In terms of examples, thinking outside the box is always better. So if something kooky (but relevant) occurs to you, go ahead and use it!   On the first new essay on one ACT, a whole lot of students wrote about the Civil Rights movement. It really just was an obvious example that a lot of students had studied, and it was certainly the first thing that jumped to my mind as well. Now, technically, graders are not supposed to be punishing you for an unoriginal example as long as you do it well. But remember the golden rule: they are only human! If a grader reads 50 essays about the Civil Rights movement in a row, and then they get to yours, and you are writing about something totally different, they are going to sit up and pay attention. Not only that, but it will be more difficult to compare your essay to others. If you write about the same topic as everyone else, it is likely that some people won’t do it as well as you, but that others will do it better. So try not to open yourself to these comparisons. Be original.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t write about a common topic, but if you are going to do it, make sure you pick very specific examples within that topic to demonstrate your knowledge. But if you can think of something that would be less obvious—well, I would go that route.

Where Most Students Lose Points on the ACT Essay—and What to Do About It

Those are some common struggles students face when approaching the essay. But what causes them to lose the most points? Well…

• Unclear structure. To avoid this pitfall, know your essay structure in advance . We’ll get into the best organizational strategies a little later on.
• Vague examples . Give VERY specific examples.For each of the three perspectives, make sure you give specific examples. And the more specific they are, the better. You don’t need a lot–two or three good ones do the trick. Examples from historical and contemporary events and circumstances tend to go over best. Personal examples can also work, but graders seem to be biased towards outside examples they seem to carry more weight.

As with everything on the ACT, practice makes perfect ! That’s one reason why…

Now you know how not to lose points—let’s talk about how you can gain them. More specifically, let’s take a look at how you can bring your ACT Writing score up 2, 3, or 4 points.

What Does it Mean to Go up 2, 3, 4 Points on the ACT Essay?

To do this, let’s start by returning to that all-important official ACT Writing Test Rubric . Remember, because the ACT combines two graders’ evaluations for your final score, going up 2 points really means going up one category on the rubric (i.e. from a 5 to a 6); going up 3 points means going up between 1 and 2 categories (i.e. from a 4 to a 6); and going up 4 points means going up 2 categories (i.e. from a 3 to a 6).

So with that in mind, let’s quickly review what the ACT graders are looking for from a perfect 6 ACT essay:

ACT Writing: What You Need for a 12 Essay

Now, a few things to keep in mind. No essay is perfect, nor do the ACT graders expect it to be. The graders know you only have 40 minutes to respond to the prompt. They’re just looking for a good first draft.

Your essay does not have to DO ALL THE THINGS in each category in order to be given that score. If an essay meets most or almost all of the criteria for a 6, then it’s given a 6.

But remember, the ACT readers don’t expect perfection. If your grammar isn’t perfect, or if your essay doesn’t have paragraphs, it isn’t a deal-breaker. Your essay has to meet most or almost all of the criteria for each category to be given that score, not every single one .

Bringing Your ACT Essay Score Up 2 Points

You can gain 2 points on the ACT Essay with some adjustments to the way you think about the prompt and craft your argument. Generally, these adjustments are pretty minor. How minor, you may wonder? Let’s take a look at how a test-taker could move from a 5 to a 6 (and thus move from a 10 to a perfect 12) on the ACT Essay.

ACT Writing: What You Need to Go From a 10 to a 12

I’ll be the first one to admit that the differences between many of these criteria are subtle (if not, as in the case of the last, nonexistent!) However, if you examine them carefully, you’ll see that the main difference between an ACT essay that receives a 5 and an ACT essay that receives a 6 is that the 5 essay is competent and works well with the material that’s provided, while the 6 essay expands the ideas in thoughtful and nuanced ways. This principle goes for everything from the thesis itself to the word choice.

Bringing Your ACT Essay Score Up 3 Points

Bringing your ACT Essay score up by 3 points is a tricky goal. Why? Because raising your score by 3 points means that you’ll be attempting to move up by 2 points from one grader and 1 from the other.

Because you’ll need to bring your score up 2 points (for example, from a 4 to a 6) with one of your graders, it’s actually a good idea to aim for this 2-point raise in your score from both for an increase of 4 points. You may only end up getting a 3-point bump, but it’s better to aim too high than too low!

With that in mind, read on to learn more about…

Bringing Your ACT Essay Score Up 4 Points

While the 2-point jump may seem relatively easy (though it does definitely require both a perspective shift and practice!) a 4-point increase on the ACT Essay may seem more intimidating. Going from a 10 to a 12 on the essay sounds a lot easier than going from an 8 to a 12, after all.

But the biggest difference between an 8 essay and a 12 essay is the same difference that we can see between a 10 essay and a 12 essay, just of a different order of magnitude. While a 12 essay, as we just saw, is nuanced and the 10 essay is competent, the 8 essay is basically pretty good. An 8 essay does what the prompt asks, but that’s pretty much all it does.

To get those extra four points on the ACT Essay, you’ll need to consider exactly how you’re addressing each criterion. So let’s take a look at the precise differences between an 8 and a 12 essay:

ACT Writing: What You Need to Go From an 8 to a 12

Bringing Your ACT Essay Score Up Generally

That’s all well and good, I can hear you saying, but what if I’m not aiming for a perfect score on the ACT Essay? What if I’m currently writing 4 essays and I want to bring my score up to 8? Is that possible?

Oh, it’s possible. It’ll take practice and commitment, but you can get there in the end.

Here’s what you’ll need to do: look at the above shifts between a 10 and 12 essay, then between an 8 and a 12 essay. Notice that the lower the ACT essay scores get, the less precise and clear aspects of the writing are.

This is all the more true for an essay scoring 6 or below. If you’re scoring in this range, you need to think about specifics in every aspect of your essay. Make your thesis statement much more specific. Make your examples much more specific. Make your language choices much more specific (“violet” instead of “purple” or “colorful” or even “interesting,” depending on the context).  

We’ve seen how to boost your score to the perfect 12—but what if you’re just starting out? Or what if you’re current essay is a 6 or below, and you know that you’ll need to overhaul your approach to the essay to end up with that elite, perfect score?

In this section, we’ll take a look at exactly how you can start from scratch and build the perfect ACT essay (that gets that perfect ACT score)!  

ACT Writing: Breaking Down the Steps

First of all, perfect scorers on the ACT Essay are systematic in their approach to the Writing section. By that, I mean that they don’t rely on their existing writing skills and hope they can just wing it on test day. Instead, they plan ahead as much as possible, focusing not only on what they should be doing during each minute (yup!) of the writing section, but also on how they should be doing it.

In case you were wondering what you can do to become part of this elite group, I’ve got you covered. Here are the steps to writing the perfect ACT Essay!

Step 1: Break Down the Prompt (5 Minutes)

As you read the prompt and three opinions, two questions should be at the front of your mind:

• What is the prompt’s main idea?
• How can I summarize each of the three opinions?

Take a minute to write (or scribble) your answers to these two questions on the prompt itself. For the prompt’s main idea, you shouldn’t need to write more than three sentences . For the three opinions, one sentence each should do .

The reason it’s a good idea to take notes at this stage is so that you won’t forget these main ideas later. After all, these ideas will most likely show up (just with better handwriting and in your own words) in your actual essay.

Step 2: Develop Your Opinion (5 Minutes)

Okay, so you’ve broken down all the information. Now it’s time to come up with some opinion(s) of your own.

Take a moment to reread your summary of the prompt. It’s time to decide what you believe (or what’s easiest for you to argue). When you’ve come up with your opinion, write it on the prompt. Using arrows, point to the parts of the prompt that support your idea. The arrows will help you find this information (and save time) as you write your essay.

Step 3: Make Connections (5 Minutes)

You have your opinion and supporting information from the prompt. Now it’s time to make connections between your ideas and those in the three opinions. That’s right, we’re going to be drawing more arrows! Review the opinions for ideas/beliefs that are either close to your own opinion are dramatically opposite. These are the ideas you’re either going to be agreeing with or disproving in your essay, so you should know where they are.

Step 4: Put it all Together (20 Minutes)

Fortunately, the exam doesn’t have a set ACT Essay format for your essay. You get some freedom, but trust me, I’ve seen how freedom can become a double-edged sword. It’s easy to think “I’ve got this” and then go all over the place. Scores suffer, and I don’t want that to happen to you.

Step 5: Proofread—Don’t Edit! (5 Minutes)

Since “Language Use” is its own separate grading category, it is worth your time to catch any errors you may have inadvertently made while writing quickly. However, don’t be tempted to use this time to rewrite your essay! Accept the fact that you’re going to have to stick with the thesis and examples you chose, and focus on correcting spelling and grammar, and making your language choices more precise.

What Should the Introduction Do?

You want to make sure your introductory paragraph introduces the perspectives provided in the prompt and ends with a thesis statement that states your own perspective and why you believe it.

For example, based on the released ACT example prompt on Intelligent Machines here , this could potentially be your introduction:

Although intelligent machines might cause us to question what makes us human, it is too extreme to say that they cause us to either to lose our humanity or push us to become super-human. Humans and machines can work in concert: machines can be employed to take on tasks that are menial, tedious, and time-consuming, leaving humans free to work on tasks that require a human mind and spirit.

Notice that the first sentence summarizes the first and third perspectives in the prompt and the thesis statement agrees with the second. This sets up a structure for your essay in which you will evaluate the three perspectives and explain why you agree with one of them.

Okay…What About My Examples?

You have a certain level of “creative liberty” when it comes to your evidence. You can make up evidence and details if you need to, as long as they’re plausible. As far as the ACT is concerned, you can make up a book, survey, study, etc. that supports your argument. Just don’t give the author of your fictional study the name “Dr. J. Jacob Jingleheimer-Schmidt.”

Why is this okay on the ACT? Well, you’ve only got 40 minutes to come up with a clear, reasoned, well-supported, cogent, persuasive essay on the topic given to you. You don’t have the time or resources for research, but you have to make the argument somehow. If you had the ability to do even a quick Google search, you would. Since you can’t, make up something that sounds plausible if you have to. Just support your argument. That’s what the graders care about.

Writing Rules You Must Know to Get That Perfect Score

How can you do this? Get organized early and check out Magoosh’s guides to the finer points of English grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary that the ACT graders will be looking for. Here are the ACT writing tips you need before test day:

ACT English Writing Skills: Everything You Need to Know

• 19 ACT Grammar Rules You Need to Know to Get a Great Score
• ACT English Punctuation
• Writing Style

ACT English Vocabulary: Everything You Need to Know

• ACT Vocabulary
• Top Tips for ACT Vocabulary
• Boost Your Vocabulary, Boost Your ACT Score

ACT Test Day: Essay Timing

You know how you’re going to come up with your thesis. You know how you’re going to organize your essay. You even know how you’re going to use your vocab and grammar to your advantage…

…but can you do it in 40 minutes?

Timed practice is the key to mastering this, but even masters of the ACT essay will occasionally find that they’re running out of time.

It happens. You look at the clock, and you realize that time’s almost up. Don’t panic—there are ways to save your essay… and your score!

Here are some steps you can take to adjust your pace and writing when the clock is running down.

If you are running out of ACT writing time, stay focused. Running out of time can be very distracting. You may feel the urge to stop, take a deep breath, and think about what you should do. Any pause you make to just think should be minimal. Focus on continuing to write, while adjusting your pace and approach.

Adjust Your Pace

Write faster . If you’d been writing at a more careful pace to avoid errors and make good word choices, focus less on these minor aspects of writing. Speed up and just aim for getting the essay done. Word choice and errors do affect your score in some ways, but an incomplete essay will get a much lower score than an essay that just has a few mistakes.

When you speed up, you will naturally change your approach a little, because you won’t have time to check your writing for the smaller details, as I mentioned above. But there are other more substantial changes you can make as you approach the rest of your essay.

One thing you can do is develop your ideas less for the remainder of the essay. Suppose you have two paragraphs left to write. Maybe your previous paragraphs has three supporting ideas for each topic sentence. To save time, include just one or two supporting details in your remaining paragraphs.

The same goes for the remaining structure of your essay overall. If you used transitional phrases and sentences earlier in the essay, skip them for the rest of the essay. And even if your introductory paragraph was three, four, or even five sentences long, your concluding paragraph can be just one good sentence– or maybe two.

Quickly select your most important ideas. Look at the original passage in the ACT essay prompt. What are the main ideas in the introduction and the three perspectives given. How simply can you put those ideas? And which ideas can you ignore and leave out of your essay, while still making your essay as complete as possible?

Worry about completion, not perfection. If you try maintain top quality while rushing to beat the clock, you will fail. And as you feel yourself failing to write a perfect essay, you’ll start to feel upset and distracted, and you’ll slow down.

Instead focus on completing the essay, ensuring it contains every important key idea, some support for each of the key ideas, and a clear conclusion. With your eyes on that prize, distractions will melt away, and you’ll speed up instead of slowing down. In the best of scenarios, you may speed up enough that you still have at least a little time to go back and make a few last minute (or last second) improvements before your time is cut off.

A Note on the 5-Paragraph Essay

Should the ACT Essay be five paragraphs?   The short answer? Not necessarily. In theory, if you can make a coherent, persuasive argument within the time limit, it doesn’t matter how many or how few paragraphs you have (as long as you have some paragraphs–writing all in one big blob is no good).

The more practical answer, though, is ALL HAIL THE FIVE-PARAGRAPH ESSAY . And if you’re aiming for that perfect score, just make slight adjustments to the standard format; we’ll take a look at how to do this in the next section.

What is the Five Paragraph Essay Format?

In case you’re unfamiliar with it, the five-paragraph essay is a standard essay format that is taught in many, many schools. It’s essentially a framework that you can drape almost any topic over and still have a solid structure at the end. It also makes sense on an essay question that presents you with three different perspectives to analyze. You can devote one paragraph to each perspective and end on the one that most agrees with your own perspective, so you can develop it a little further.

Your basic five-paragraph essay starts with the introduction . Here, you introduce the debatable topic and state your thesis .

Your next three paragraphs are the body of your essay. On the old essay (and on many essays you write in school) this is where you put your examples, reasons, and evidence for your thesis. Since you’re provided with three perspectives to analyze, this actually makes your life quite a bit easier. You don’t even have to decide what each paragraph should be about! Each paragraph can be devoted to analyzing one of the three perspectives using solid, specific evidence and reasoning .

I suggest that you order the perspectives in the way that will best support your overall argument. This typically means putting the perspective you agree with most in the third body paragraph. Then you can further develop your own perspective within that paragraph or include it as a separate fourth body paragraph if appropriate. It also helps a lot to have a clear transition between each paragraph.

The final paragraph is the conclusion. You do not have to restate every argument you’ve made in the body, but you should summarize your argument and restate your thesis in different words. If you can, try to end with something that sounds like it ties everything together. For example, if you use a quote in the introduction, reference it in the conclusion. Little things like that make the essay feel more cohesive.

How to Use the 5-Paragraph Essay Format to Your Advantage

This may sound terribly boring. And, admittedly, it isn’t the most exciting way to write. But can you imagine walking into your ACT with the pre-write for your essay already half written ? All you have to do is get the specific topic and decide what your perspective is. You’re already ahead of the game!

What does this look like in practice? Here’s one organization strategy that should work well if you choose to agree with one of the perspectives.

• Brief intro paragraph (2-3 sentences)
• Evaluation of the first perspective you did not choose with specific examples
• Evaluation of other perspective you did not choose with specific examples
• Evaluation of the perspective you agree with and further development on why you agree with it using specific examples (this should be a longer paragraph than the first two, or it could be split into two paragraphs)
• Brief conclusion (approx 2 sentences): make a final case for your argument

This structure ensures that you answer all three parts of the question: evaluating the three perspectives, developing your own, and explaining the relationship between your perspective and the others.

And if you’re dying to see what this looks like in actual practice, wonder no more! Kristin will show you exactly how she’s going to write a great ACT essay from start to finish. In the video, Kristin is taking on the role of a student seeing an ACT essay question for the first time, evaluating the perspectives, brainstorming, outlining, and finally writing each paragraph of the essay. And she’ll give you all of her most important tips along the way, so stick it out :).

Remember, this is just one essay, and it is not necessarily perfect. But, hey, no one is perfect in 40 minutes! There are thousands of successful ways to approach this essay.

What differentiates a “perfect 12” essay? Primarily specificity and precision. However, those two qualities have to run deep, affecting everything from your thesis statement to your organization, from your choice (and explanation) of your examples to the mechanics and vocabulary you use.

But even if you don’t think of yourself as a great writer, remember that you can still get a perfect score on the ACT Essay: you just need to learn the conventions, practice a ton, and constantly evaluate your work so you can keep improving. Is it easy? No. But is it impossible? Also no.

On test day, let all thoughts of perfection fall away. Just focus on what you’ve learned in your practice, and on writing the best essay you possibly can. And be proud of yourself—you’ve earned it!

After all, some of the best ACT moments come after the test. As mega-scorer Magoosh student Ori C. tells us, “I’d say the best part [of the experience] was when I was sitting on the bus and got a Magoosh notification saying that my ACT scores had probably been posted. I went on the ACT website and screenshotted my scores to text to my parents. Finally seeing the scores verified that all my hard work had paid off.”

So the major takeaway here? If you want to get that perfect 12 on your ACT Essay…be like J.K. Rowling (who had the first Harry Potter book rejected by 12 publishers!) and refuse to give up!

Want to ace all sections of the ACT? Check out our posts:

• How to Get a Perfect 36 on ACT Reading: An Intergalactic Guide
• How to Get a Perfect 36 on ACT Math: The Jurassic Guide
• How to Get a Perfect 36 on ACT Science: The Dark Knight’s Guide
• How to Get a Perfect 36 on the ACT Reading Test: A Tropical Guide

With many thanks to Kristin Fracchia, Catrina Coffey, David Recine, and Thomas Broderick for their contributions to this post.

Rachel is a Magoosh Content Creator. She writes and updates content on our High School and GRE Blogs to ensure students are equipped with the best information during their test prep journey. As a test-prep instructor for more than five years in there different countries, Rachel has helped students around the world prepare for various standardized tests, including the SAT, ACT, TOEFL, GRE, and GMAT, and she is one of the authors of our Magoosh ACT Prep Book . Rachel has a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature from Brown University, an MA in Cinematography from the Université de Paris VII, and a Ph.D. in Film Studies from University College London. For over a decade, Rachel has honed her craft as a fiction and memoir writer and public speaker. Her novel, THE BALLERINAS , is forthcoming in December 2021 from St. Martin’s Press , while her memoir, GRADUATES IN WONDERLAND , co-written with Jessica Pan, was published in 2014 by Penguin Random House. Her work has appeared in over a dozen online and print publications, including Vanity Fair Hollywood. When she isn’t strategically stringing words together at Magoosh, you can find Rachel riding horses or with her nose in a book. Join her on Twitter , Instagram , or Facebook !

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What's a Good ACT Writing Score?

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For the ACT 2019-2020 reporting year, the average writing score is a 6.5 on a 12-point scale. The number comes from an ACT report on national norms , and represents roughly 2.8 million taken between 2017 and 2019. 

Do You Need the ACT Plus Writing?

Ever since the SAT evolved to include a written component, more and more colleges changed their policies to require ACT students to take the optional Writing Test (see the list of colleges that require ACT Plus Writing ). Hundreds of more colleges "recommend" the Writing Test, and if a selective college recommends something, you should probably do it. After all, strong writing skills are an essential part of college success.

As of March 2016, the SAT no longer includes a required essay section, and we're already seeing many colleges dropping the ACT writing exam as a requirement for admission. Time will tell if this trend continues. However, it is still a good idea to take the ACT Plus Wiring if 1) the colleges you're looking at recommend the test; and 2) you have solid writing skills.

There's no reason to take a recommended exam if you're likely to perform poorly on it. Unless the writing exam is required, take it only if you think it will strengthen your college application. Strong writing skills are essential to college success, so the score certainly can play a positive role in the admissions equation if you get a high score.

Average Scores on the Current 12-Point Writing Exam

An average score on the current ACT Writing Exam is a a 6.5. For highly selective colleges, you'll want a score of 8 or higher. Scores of 10, 11, and 12 truly stand out and highlight strong writing skills.

Unfortunately, for the past couple of years, almost no colleges report ACT writing scores to the Department of Education, so it's difficult to learn what score ranges are typical for different types of colleges. Later in this article, however, you'll see data from the pre-2015 12-point ACT writing exam, and those numbers can give you a pretty accurate sense of what scores will be competitive at different schools.

ACT Writing Scores by College

Because so few schools now require the ACT writing exam, the data is no longer reported to the Department of Education. The data below is historical—it's from pre-2015 when ACT used a 12-point scale and many colleges used the writing score as part of the admissions equation. Nevertheless, the numbers may be useful for seeing what writing scores were typical at different types of colleges and universities.

The data below shows the scores for the 25th and 75th percentile of matriculated students at certain colleges. In other words, half of all enrolled students scored somewhere between the lower and upper numbers. Again, keep in mind that this is  not  current data.

You can see that you don't need a perfect 12 to get into the most selective colleges in the country. In fact, a 9 or 10 puts you in a strong position even at schools like Harvard and MIT.

Keep in mind that your ACT Writing Test score is just a tiny part of your application. Your overall ACT composite score matters more than any individual section of the exam. A strong application also needs to include glowing letters or recommendation , a winning essay , and meaningful extracurricular involvement . Most important of all is a strong academic record .

• How to Study for the ACT
• Raise Your Act Math Score in 5 Easy Steps
• 2019-20 ACT Score Release Dates
• ACT Science Reasoning Information
• Should I Retake the ACT?
• Converting ACT Scores to SAT Scores
• ACT English Questions, Reporting Categories, and Content
• ACT Reading Test Questions, Content, and Scores
• How to Improve Your ACT Scores
• What is the ACT?
• What to Do About an ACT Score Mistake
• ACT Writing Sample Essay Topics
• ACT Scores for Admission to Selective Liberal Arts Colleges
• ACT Score Comparison for Top Universities
• ACT Score Comparison for Admission to Indiana Colleges
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ACT Essay Template and Sample

Act essay template.

¶1: Introductory Paragraph

• Introductory statement

¶2: First Body Paragraph

• Describe your thesis
• Provide 1st example/reasoning: include specific, relevant information

¶3: Second Body Paragraph

• Continue supporting your thesis
• Provide 2nd example/reasoning: include specific, relevant information

If you are running out of time, don’t write a 2nd body paragraph. Instead, take the time to write a thorough 3rd body paragraph and a clear conclusion  paragraph.

¶4: Third Body Paragraph

• Explain how your thesis compares and contrasts with Perspectives One, Two, and/or Three
• Strengths/Weaknesses of the perspective(s)
• Insights offered / Insights not considered
• Persuasive / Not persuasive
• Example or reasoning: provide specific, relevant information

¶5: Conclusion Paragraph

• Recap your thesis
• Recap how your thesis compares and contrasts with Perspectives One, Two, and/or Three

Sample Prompt

Bilingual Accreditation

While the most common language in the United States is English, it’s certainly not the only language in which Americans communicate. In fact, bilingual fluency is highly desirable in many professions, including business, education, and medicine. In an effort to ready students for success in their future careers, some high schools may consider instituting programs that would offer bilingual accreditation to students who successfully complete a significant portion of their schooling in a language other than English. Because bilingual certification is not a necessary component of traditional education, should schools be  expected to explore this option for interested students? As American high schools aim to remain competitive as measured by increasingly rigorous international education standards, innovative programs such as bilingual certification may prove to be essential.

Read and carefully consider these perspectives. Each discusses relevant aspects of offering bilingual accreditation.

  Perspective One: Schools should encourage bilingual fluency but should not be expected to offer special classes  or programs. School administrators need to work on strengthening the existing curriculum rather than overcomplicating instruction by attempting to incorporate additional programs that do not reinforce traditional education.

Perspective Two:  Offering bilingual accreditation weakens the core of high school curriculum. A large enough portion of the student population already struggles to maintain passing grades when taught in English, and adding other languages would likely add to that number.

Perspective Three:  Bilingual accreditation should be offered, but it needs to be thoughtfully implemented. Courses taught in languages other than English need to be carefully selected to ensure that this program does not affect the integrity of the high school diploma.

Sample Essay Using the Prompt

Essay outline.

• Thesis:  Schools should offer bilingual accreditation as long as courses offered in languages other than English are carefully selected.

¶2: First body paragraph

• Describe your thesis:   All classes need to be carefully selected so scheduling bilingual offerings is not an additional burden for school administrators.
• Provide first example/reasoning: include specific, relevant information— Even if core classes are given in two languages, all students still study the core curriculum and preserve the integrity of the diploma.

¶3: Second Body Paragraph

• Continue supporting your thesis:   Offering bilingual accreditation provides an opportunity for schools to offer non-traditional classes for all students .
• Provide second example/reasoning: include specific, relevant information— Every dollar spent to accommodate bilingual education should be matched with equal funding for other types of educational enrichment such as STEM training and career-oriented electives.

¶4: Third Body Paragraph

• Explain how your thesis compares and contrasts with Perspectives One, Two, and/or Three:   The first perspective argues that schools should encourage bilingual fluency but not add any bilingual classes, which is in direct contrast to Perspective Three.
• Strengths/Weaknesses of the perspective(s):   Perspective One doesn’t take into account that making the existing curriculum better often means adding additional classes, which bilingual accreditation would accomplish.
• Persuasive / Not persuasive:   The argument simply says that these classes would only be for interested students, so it doesn’t affect everyone.
• Example or Reasoning: provide specific, relevant information— Most of the world uses English as a second language, and many people speak at least two languages, so to stay competitive, U.S. students should also be fluent in two languages.
• Recap your thesis:   I fully support perspective three because it opens up possibilities for all students without denying anyone a full high school curriculum leading to a meaningful diploma.
• Recap how your thesis compares and contrasts with Perspectives One, Two, and/or Three:   Recognizing the benefits of being bilingual, and making bilingual courses available but optional, is the best of both worlds.

Final Essay

               In today’s world where international education standards are very high and the U.S.  needs to remain competitive, educators are looking for ways to enhance high school curriculum.  One way is offering classes in languages other than English. Some people think that  schools should provide enough education in a different language for students to be certified  as bilingual. Others think this will weaken the curriculum. Still others think the accreditation  should be offered but carefully administered so that graduation from that school would  indicate the completed high school curriculum, and this is the option I agree with. I would  further argue that schools should not only carefully implement bilingual programs to suit  students who want to become fluent in two languages, but also provide supplemental non- traditional courses for students pursuing their entire education in English.

              The third perspective posits that while students should be given the opportunity to  learn in other languages and be accredited as bilingual, the courses given need to be carefully  selected. In reality, all classes need to be carefully selected so this is not a problem  for bilingual classes. And if the classes selected were all optional, not required, it would not  affect students who still want to learn everything in English. Since core classes might be  given in two languages, and students select which one they want, all students still study the core curriculum and preserve the integrity of the diploma. Schools have always taught  languages in high school so a French or Spanish course taught as a bilingual class makes  perfect sense. Bilingual classes are also advantageous for students who do well and want  to challenge themselves. So a French literature class can be taught in French while students  read in French also.

             As schools work to accommodate students who wish to pursue a bilingual education,  administrators must keep in mind that students who do not want an additional bilingual  accreditation should still have every opportunity to excel as they work toward their high  school diplomas. Every dollar spent to accommodate bilingual education should be matched  with equal funding for other types of educational enrichment such as STEM training and  career-oriented electives. That way, every student can benefit from classes that go beyond  traditional education, whether the classes concentrate on language, science, technology,  engineering, mathematics, or future careers. Given the rigorous demands of the current job  climate, students will greatly benefit from any additional marketable skills that they can  acquire during their high school careers.

              The first perspective argues that schools should encourage bilingual fluency but not  add any bilingual classes, which is in direct contrast to my position. Instead, the school  administrators should make the existing curriculum better so that traditional education is  really good. Certainly a high school curriculum should be as good as it can be and we should  always be looking for ways to make it better. That often means adding new courses. For instance, computer courses didn’t exist a few years ago, but they are in schools now because  it’s important for people to be able to use computers. It’s the same thing with bilingual  courses. Most of the world uses English as a second language, and many people speak at  least two languages. So it’s only right that to stay competitive, U.S. students should also  be fluent in two languages; this is particularly important in careers that require international  work. Also, the argument simply says that these classes would only be for interested  students, so it doesn’t affect everyone. And finally, how can the schools encourage bilingual  fluency if they don’t provide a place for students to practice another language?

              Being bilingual in a world with international interaction can’t help but be useful. I fully  support perspective three because it opens up possibilities for all students without denying  anyone a full high school curriculum leading to a meaningful diploma. Recognizing the  benefits of being bilingual, and making bilingual courses available but optional, is the best  of both worlds. Expanding courses offered in a curriculum is always better than restricting  them, especially when they serve such an important need as the ability to communicate  with others in their own language.

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How Does the ACT Work, and What’s a Good Score?

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The ACT is one of the two main college readiness exams. Like they do with the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), admissions offices use your ACT score to help determine if you’re a good fit for their college or university.

Both tests are widely used, but recently, the ACT has become more popular than the SAT. Over two million students take the ACT every year, while about 1.7 million take the SAT. It’s easy to feel like all standardized tests are the same, but these tests measure two different things.

The SAT measures your ability to learn, and the ACT measures what you’ve already learned. They’re two completely different approaches to determining your “college readiness,” but both are well-respected, and most schools don’t have a preference for one or the other.

The ACT was developed by a college professor in response to his frustrations with the SAT, which at the time was the only means of gauging how prepared students were for college. As an educator, he felt it was far better to know that your students had the necessary prerequisite knowledge than to know how good they were at learning.

Tomato, to-mah-to, you’re taking the ACT. Here’s what you need to know about it.

Quick facts on the ACT

Eligibility requirements: none

Length: three hours and 30 minutes

Sections: four required (English, math, reading, science), one optional (writing)

Number of questions: 215 (plus an essay prompt)

Types of questions: multiple choice, essay (writing section only)

Score range: 1–36

Cost: $46 without the writing section, $62.50 with the writing section

What does ACT stand for? ACT technically stands for American College Testing, but the test is administered by an organization of the same name, and they simply refer to it as the ACT.

What does the ACT test you on?

The ACT tests you based on things you should learn by the end of your senior year of high school. We’ll tell you what to expect from each section and give you some tips, but first, here’s a tip that applies to every multiple choice section:

Never leave a question blank. You aren’t penalized for wrong answers, so even if you have absolutely no clue what the answer is, take a guess!

ACT English Test

Length: 45 minutes

Number of questions: 75

The English section of the ACT will measure your mastery of the nuts and bolts of prose. Rather than asking you to retrieve information or think critically about a passage, you’ll examine individual phrases, sentences, or paragraphs.

The makers of the test say that the English section “measures your understanding of the conventions of standard English (punctuation, usage, and sentence structure), production of writing (topic development, organization, unity, and cohesion), and knowledge of language (word choice, style, and tone).”

There are several varieties of multiple choice questions, but they’re all based on passages. If a passage has underlined sections, some of the questions will ask you to improve those parts with one of the options provided. If none of the suggested changes improve the passage, you can choose “no change” (this is pretty common).

You may be asked to change a passage to create a specific effect, like building a stronger transition between two thoughts or rearranging sentences to form a more logical progression. You’ll also be asked about how particular changes might affect the passage, or what information a particular section provides.

According to national data from the ACT, this is the section most people score lowest on.

Tip: This test gives you the least amount of time per question, so don’t waste time on tough questions. Guess, and come back to them later if there’s time.If you don’t have extra time at the end, think about how many more questions you were able to get through!   It’s sunk-cost economics at work.

ACT Mathematics Test

Length: 60 minutes

Number of questions: 60

All of the questions of the math section of the ACT are solvable without a calculator. Still, using one could save you some precious time. Here’s how the makers of the test break down the questions:

• Number and quantity (7–10%)
• Algebra (12–15%)
• Functions (12–15%)
• Geometry (12–15%)
• Statistics and probability (8–12%)
• Modeling (less than 25%)
• Integrating essential skills (about 15%)

You’ll need to know the basic terminology and formulas for basic high school math. Be sure to read how the ACT describes each math section .

The ACT has already done a huge favor for you: the questions in each section appear in order of difficulty, so the easiest ones come first. That doesn’t always mean they’ll be the easiest ones for you , so you’ll still want to skim ahead if you get stuck on one.

Tip: Before you start solving a problem, take a look at the possible answers. They may help you decide how to approach the problem.

ACT Reading Test

Length: 35 minutes

Number of questions: 40

The reading section of the ACT contains four passages with 10 questions each. These are designed to test your reading comprehension, and the questions will ask you to summarize pieces of the passage, make inferences from the text, and identify key information. The bulk of the questions will be about the ideas and details in the passages.

The four passages come from the same four subjects every year, and they always appear in the following order:

• Social science
• Natural science

According to national data from the ACT, this is the section people score highest on.

Tip: Answers on the reading section are deliberately trying to trick you. There may be multiple answers that look correct. Before you read the possible answers, try to answer the question for yourself when possible. Then it’ll be harder for those almost right answers to mislead you—because you’ll be looking for a specific answer.

ACT Science Test

For the science section of the ACT, you won’t be expected to have advanced knowledge of any particular kind of science, but you will need a general understanding of these subjects:

• Meteorology

The majority of this test involves interpreting data and working with experiment results. Like the reading and English sections of the ACT, science questions are based on a passage. You’ll have between four and seven questions per passage.

The passages you’ll work from will take these three formats:

• Data representation (30-40%)
• Research summaries (45-55%)
• Conflicting viewpoints (15-20%)

Data representation questions will focus on tables and graphs, and they’ll test your ability to interpret scientific data.

Research summaries will focus on experiments, and you’ll be asked about the design of the experiment and the conclusions drawn from the results.

Conflicting viewpoints questions ask you to analyze and compare two hypotheses or views that are based on different premises or incomplete data.

ACT Writing Test

Length: 40 minutes

Number of questions: one

The writing section is the only part of the test that doesn’t affect your composite score. (It is optional, after all.) The test will present three perspectives on an issue, and you’ll respond with an essay.

Regardless of the prompt, your essay will have the same three expectations:

• Analyze and evaluate the perspectives given.
• State and develop your own perspective on the issue.
• Explain the relationship between your perspective and those given.

Should I take the ACT Writing Test?

It definitely won’t count against you if you don’t take the optional section of the ACT. So if you’re a terrible writer, that’s probably a good choice. However, since it doesn’t count towards your composite score, and it can provide the admissions office with a more personal representation of your academic capabilities, it’s a good idea to take it.

A big shiny ACT score can certainly make your college applications stand out, but people can only learn so much about you from a number. There’s no guarantee a college will use your ACT essay, but if you’re a good writer, this is a positive differentiator that not every applicant is going to have.

Personally, I’d recommend it.

How do ACT scores work?

On the ACT, you gain points for correct answers, and you don’t lose points for incorrect answers.

You’ll receive a separate score for each section of the ACT: English, math, reading, science, and writing (optional). Scores range from 1 to 36 on each section—with the exception of the writing section, where scores range from 2 to 12. These scores are averaged into your “composite score.”

Your score report will show your score and percentile in each section, plus two additional sections: STEM , and ELA (English Language Arts). These are good indicators of your competency in specific subjects, but when someone says, “What’s your ACT score?” they’re asking about your composite score. ACT.org can walk you through each part of your ACT score report .

You’ll be able to view your scores online about two weeks after the exam, and you’ll get your score report in the mail within 2-8 weeks.

What’s a good ACT score?

While a perfect SAT score is 2,400, a perfect ACT score is just 36. But less than .1% of all ACT test-takers get a perfect score. So what’s a good ACT score?

The average ACT score is 21. But sitting smack dab in the middle isn’t going to make your application stand out. And for schools that want to build on their reputation for excellence, a mediocre score may not be good enough (unless you have an exceptional portfolio or something else to show off).

A good score is different for every school

Unless a school explicitly states a minimum ACT score you need to be admitted, you have to look at the students who are actually accepted to determine a “good score.” Whatever schools you’re looking at, you can see the range of standardized test scores for students they’ve accepted. You can even compare the bottom 25% of accepted students and the top 75%. If the other pieces of your application are strong, you can probably get by with a lower score.

Ivy League schools , for example, have significantly higher standards than the national average, and their students’ average ACT scores range from as low as 29 to as high as 35 (or from the 92nd percentile to the 99th).

So a good score really depends on what school you want to go to. But unless you’re looking at a top-tier school—one with a notoriously low acceptance rate—scoring in the top 75% of all test takers should be good enough for most schools. That means a good score is 24 or higher.

But what do you mean by “a good score”?

Of course, good is a relative term. Maybe by “good” you mean scoring in the top 90%? In that case, you’re shooting for a 28 or higher. And yes, four points can make that big of a difference. Sometimes getting a single point higher on your composite score can make a difference of 7%.

While a score around 24 should get you into most schools, scoring 28 or higher will have some schools throwing money at you, begging you to be one of their students.

Now that you know more about what to aim for, let’s talk about what to do with a bad score.

What happens if you get a bad score on the ACT?

No matter how much you study, there are lots of factors that can add up to a bad test day. Lack of sleep, poor diet, not exercising regularly, health issues, stress, and distractions make it harder to perform your best under pressure.

Thankfully, you can retake the ACT as many times as you want. And ACT.org says that 57% of people who retake the ACT improve their score.

When it comes time to submit your ACT score to a school, you can choose to submit your highest composite score. So if you have a bad test day, no one even has to know. This doesn’t mean you can pick and choose your best results from each section, though. If you did really well on different sections on different days, you may want to share both scores—but you can’t blend them into a new composite score like some kind of ACT Frankenstein.

How do you prepare for the ACT?

Like all standardized tests, the best way to prepare for the ACT is to take practice tests. You should certainly study the terms and concepts you’ll need to be familiar with (especially for the math and science sections), but when it comes down to it, practice is the best route to a high score.

The best practice tests will give you explanations for why one answer is correct, and the others are wrong. To make sure you’re getting the most relevant practice, be sure to check out the materials provided by ACT.org, the makers of the test.

Here are some free practice questions they provide, with explanations for each answer:

• English practice questions
• Math practice questions
• Reading practice questions
• Science practice questions
• Writing samples

Let us know in the comments if there’s anything else you wish we would’ve told you about the ACT. Good luck in your studies!

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Does ACT cater for students with any form of learning disability? For instance this student is able to write ACT but would need special accommodation, like additional time, would such special accommodation be allowed for the ACT exam? This student has a condition called Impaired Processing Speed (IPS). An official report to that effect can always be forwarded to the relevant office of ACT when and if necessary.

I kindly await your advice.

Yes, the ACT offers accomodations for documented learning needs. Here’s where they talk about that: https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/registration/accommodations.html

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What’s a Good Act Score? How to Navigate the Numbers

• By Maria Tzavidis

Published September 27, 2023

The ACT plays a pivotal role in the college admissions journey of countless high school students. As the academic world continues to evolve, the value and significance of standardized tests like the ACT and SAT have come under scrutiny. In recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted many educational institutions to adopt test-optional policies, allowing students to decide whether to submit ACT scores. Yet, for many students, understanding what qualifies as a good ACT score remains a paramount concern.

In this guide, we will unravel the mysteries surrounding ACT scores, shed light on the factors that determine a “good” score, and provide invaluable insights into achieving your academic aspirations. Whether you’re a student aiming for the Ivy League or contemplating the best approach to standardized testing, this guide will navigate you through the nuances of ACT scores, helping you make informed decisions about your college journey.

What Is the ACT?

The ACT, or American College Testing, is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. It assesses high school students’ readiness for college-level coursework and is designed to measure their knowledge and skills in various academic areas. The ACT is considered one of the two major college admissions tests in the United States, with the other being the SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test).

>>RELATED:

• What Is a Good SAT Score?
• The Difference Between SAT and ACT

Here are some key features and components of the ACT:

• Content Areas: The ACT consists of four main sections: English, Math, Reading, and Science. There is also an optional Writing (Essay) section. Each section is designed to evaluate different aspects of a student’s academic abilities and readiness.
• Scoring: The ACT is scored on a scale from 1 to 36, with 36 being the highest possible score. Students receive a separate score for each of the four required sections, and these scores are averaged to calculate the composite score, which is also on a scale of 1 to 36. The optional Writing section is scored separately and does not contribute to the composite score.
• Test Format: The ACT is a multiple-choice test, with each section consisting of a set of questions related to its content area. The questions are designed to assess a student’s knowledge, problem-solving skills, and critical thinking abilities.
• Optional Writing Section: While the ACT Writing section is optional, some colleges and universities require or recommend it as part of the admissions process. This section presents a prompt on a relevant topic, and students are required to write an essay in response within a specified time frame.
• Test Dates: The ACT is typically administered on specific dates throughout the year. Students can register for the test and choose from available test dates based on their preferences and college application deadlines.
• Preparation: Many students engage in test preparation to improve their ACT scores. This can involve self-study using study guides and practice tests, enrolling in ACT prep courses, or utilizing online resources.

What Is a Good ACT Score?

Here’s the short answer: A good ACT score typically falls within the range of 24 to 29. However, what’s considered “good” can vary based on your college goals and the institutions you’re interested in. It’s essential to research the specific ACT score requirements of your target colleges to determine the score you should aim for.

When it comes to defining a good ACT score, it’s essential to consider various factors that influence this assessment. The ACT is scored on a scale from 1 to 36, with 36 being a perfect score. Nationally, the average ACT score hovers around 20.6, roughly at the 50th percentile.

 Scores below this average may be viewed as below average, while scores above it are generally considered above average. Therefore, scoring between 24 to 29 places you in the top quartile of test-takers, which is often seen as a good range to aim for.

However, it’s crucial to recognize that what constitutes a good ACT score can be highly subjective. Your score should align with your academic and career aspirations and the specific colleges or universities you plan to apply to. Highly selective institutions may require higher scores, often in the 30s, to be competitive, while less selective schools may accept scores in the mid-20s as good. Therefore, conducting thorough research into the average ACT scores of admitted students at your desired colleges will provide valuable guidance on setting your target score.

Moreover, remember that your ACT score is just one element of your college application. Admissions committees also consider other factors like your high school GPA, extracurricular activities, recommendation letters, and personal essays. Therefore, while a good ACT score can certainly bolster your application, a holistic approach to your college admissions strategy will yield the most favorable results.

How Is Your ACT Score Used?

Like the SAT, the ACT can play a key role in the college admissions process, financial aid determinations, and more. Here’s a rundown of how ACT score might be used.. 

1. ACT’s Importance for College Admissions

Many colleges and universities use ACT scores as part of their admissions criteria. A strong ACT score can make your application more competitive, particularly at selective institutions. Some highly competitive schools may have specific score thresholds that applicants are expected to meet or exceed. In these cases, achieving a good ACT score can be the key to unlocking the doors to prestigious institutions.

Moreover, the ACT provides a standardized measure of academic readiness, allowing admissions officers to compare applicants fairly. It offers a level playing field for students from different high schools with varying grading systems. By demonstrating your proficiency in key subject areas, you can showcase your preparedness for college-level coursework.

2. ACT’s Role in Financial Aid

A good score on the ACT can also significantly impact your eligibility for financial aid. Many colleges and universities offer merit-based scholarships and grants to students with exceptional academic achievements, including high ACT scores. These financial incentives can make higher education more affordable and help offset the rising costs of college.

Some scholarship programs have specific ACT score requirements, meaning that achieving a good score could make you eligible for substantial financial assistance. This financial aid can ease the burden of tuition, room and board, and other educational expenses, making it more feasible to attend your dream school.

3. ACT Scores for Course Placement

The ACT can influence your course placement once you’re enrolled in college. Some institutions use ACT scores to determine whether you are ready for advanced coursework in certain subjects. A high ACT score may enable you to skip introductory-level courses and dive into more challenging material right from the start of your college journey. This can save you time and money while ensuring that you are appropriately challenged in your academic pursuits.

4. Using Your ACT Score for Academic Planning

The ACT provides valuable insights into your strengths and weaknesses in specific subject areas. This information can be instrumental in guiding your academic planning. For instance, if you excel in science on the ACT, it might lead you to explore STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) majors and career paths. Conversely, if you perform exceptionally well in English and writing, it could steer you toward fields that require strong communication skills. Understanding your ACT results can help you align your college and career aspirations with your academic strengths.

Understanding the ACT Score Report

Each section of the ACT test consists of multiple-choice questions. A student earns a point for every correct question, and the total number of points is the raw score. 

Then, that raw score is converted into a scale score between 1 and 36. The scaled scores for each section are then averaged to calculate an ACT composite score that is also out of 36 points. 

The higher the scores (for each of the four main areas as well as the composite ACT score) your student receives, the better the performance. A 36 is a perfect score. 

You can also evaluate your child’s percentile score. With ACT scoring, percentiles distinguish performance levels among composite scores by comparing the score to those of other ACT test-takers. For example, if a student scored at the 75th percentile, it means they outperformed 75 percent of students who took the test. The higher the ACT percentile, the better.  

What’s the Average ACT Score? 

The average ACT score is 20.6, which is at the 50th percentile. The scores follow a normal distribution in that most test-takers score a little below or a little above the average test score. 

This list may help your child see where their composite score compares to other test takers:

• Less than 16 = bottom 25% (25th percentile)
• 21 = average ACT score (50th percentile)
• 24 or higher  = top 25% (75th percentile)
• 29 or higher = top 10% (90th percentile)
• 31 or higher = top 5% (95th percentile)

Once they’ve seen what various scores mean in relation to other test-takers’, they should ask what a score means to them personally. This is relative, because it depends on the admissions criteria of the schools they’re interested in applying to.

To determine whether or not their score is good enough, they need to refer to the ACT score range or average for each school on their wishlist. Colleges usually state standardized testing requirements on their admissions websites. You can also use the R2C Insights tool to get more details on each school’s admissions policies.

Additionally, look at the average ACT score of incoming freshmen. For example, if your child scored a 29, it would be deemed low at a selective school like Yale, where the average is 34 . But it would be considered a good ACT score at a school like Penn State, where the average score is 28.

Keep in mind that an ACT score will be considered as one facet of a college admissions profile, albeit a strong one. Additionally, some schools may focus more on a section score rather than the composite score. If your child wants to get into a competitive English program, they may need a very high ACT writing score, but the math score might not matter as much.

High school GPA , level of classes, extracurricular activities, recommendation letters, an entrance interview, and college essays are also key components that can affect how your child’s ACT score is viewed or how much weight may be placed on it. 

The ACT Score Needed to Get Into Top Schools  

Obviously, a perfect ACT score of 36 may enable your child to get into very selective colleges. It’s also safe to say that an above-average score would be needed to get into an Ivy League school. Many merit scholarship programs consider ACT scores or percentile ranking as well.

How to Improve Your ACT Score

It’s important to note that it’s not unusual for a student to score below expectations the first time they take the ACT or receive scores that don’t reflect their grades in school. For example, a student can do poorly on the writing test even if their English grades are good.

Regardless of how they do, unless they received the maximum ACT test score of 36, there is always room for improvement. The good news is they won’t need to answer thousands of practice questions or spend endless hours in ACT prep tutoring to get a higher score.

The key is to learn a test-taking strategy, which ACT prep courses help with in a short amount of time. 

One more simple way to improve your score? Be mindful of test dates and registration deadlines to reach their personal best ACT score.

SAT Scores vs. ACT Scores: Where Each Score Matters

Students and their families often have questions about standardized testing. Should they take the ACT exam or the SAT? Which one better suits their needs? Do they need to take one and wonder how they would do on the other? Are SAT or ACT prep courses really necessary?

There are differences between the two exams , and students usually do better on one compared to the other.  

Unlike the SAT , the ACT does have a science component to it, and students can use a calculator for the entire math section (for the SAT it’s only allowed for part of the math section). It has been noted that students who are more linear as opposed to creative tend to perform better on the ACT.

Also, the recent change allowing students the option to retake individual sections of the ACT instead of the entire test can affect their decision and ability to submit higher scores to colleges. (The highest four scores are averaged and sent to colleges, regardless of whether those highest scores are from the same testing day or different days.) 

It’s a good idea for students to take a timed, full-length practice test for each exam (the ACT and SAT) to see which one they prefer. Many test-prep books and websites have practice exams.  

In the end, what makes a good ACT score (or SAT score) isn’t one magic number. There are a variety of factors at play.

By understanding your child’s ACT percentile ranking, you’ll get a better sense of how their test results can help them achieve their admissions goals and/or qualify for merit aid.

How to Compare ACT Scores With Our R2C Insights Tool

Use Road2College’s R2C Insights to compare colleges and build your college list. We offer dozens of data points, including average ACT (and SAT) scores for incoming freshmen. Sort potential colleges by state, majors, GPAs, cost of attendance, merit scholarships and much more. Try it for free today.

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How much does the ACT cost?

$69 registration fee (no writing section), $94 registration fee (with writing section), act test cost.

The ACT costs $69 if you take the test without the optional writing section or $94 including the writing section. ACT score reports are free for you, your high school, and up to four colleges, and additional score reports cost $19 . Colleges and universities use ACT exam scores to make admissions decisions.

ACT registration fee

The ACT registration fee is $69 for the standard test with no writing section or $94 for the test with the writing section. This fee includes the exam and free online score reports for you, your high school, and up to four colleges.

If you miss the regular registration deadline, you can opt for late registration or standby testing:

Late registration: There is an extra $38 fee if you register during the late registration period, which is typically available for about two and a half weeks after the regular deadline for your desired test date.

Standby testing: If you miss the late registration deadline, you can pay a $69 fee for standby testing—a waitlist that admits students on a first-come, first-served basis if there are any available seats and test materials after all registered students have been admitted. If no seats are available, ACT refunds the standby fee.

ACT score service fees

After taking the ACT, you'll want to receive your score and share official score reports with the schools of your choice. ACT charges the following fees related to scoring your exam and reporting your scores:

Viewing your score online is free.

Score reports:

Sending score reports to up to four colleges and universities is free.

Sending score reports to a fifth and sixth school costs $19 in total.

Additional score reports cost $19 each .

Score verification costs $58 for either the multiple-choice section or the writing section or $116 for both sections. This service is available for up to 12 months after your test date. If you pay for score verification, ACT will verify:

Your multiple-choice test scores were checked against the correct scoring key.

Your written essay was scored by two independent, qualified readers, and by a third reader if the first two scores differed by more than one point in any domain.

Your written essay was correctly captured and displayed to readers.

Additional ACT test fees

You'll face these additional fees if you change, reschedule, or cancel your ACT test:

Changing your test date or location costs $44 .

Adding or removing the writing test costs $25 . This option is only available through the late registration deadline for your scheduled exam. Before registering for the ACT, check with your top college choices to see if they require the optional written essay.

Test Information Release (TIR) costs $32 if you order it before the test begins or $40 if you order it after the test. TIR gives you a digital copy of the test questions, your answers, the answer key, and the score conversion table. If you took the optional writing test, you'll also receive a copy of the writing prompt, your scores, and the scoring rubric.

ACT study guides

ACT offers several resources to help students prepare for the test:

The Official ACT Prep Guide costs $24 for the e-book version or $30 for the paperback version.

Individual subject guides like The Official ACT English Guide or The Official ACT Mathematics Guide cost $16 to $18 each .

To save money, consider buying the prep guide and all four subject guides bundled at a reduced price. The Official ACT Prep Guide & Subject Guides bundle costs $69 .

Free ACT practice tests are available on the official website.

Study guides from other sources like The Princeton Review range from $20 to $30 on average and typically come with access to online practice tests.

ACT prep courses

Prices for ACT prep courses range from $150 to $1,900 , depending on the features included and whether the program is self-paced or includes live online instruction.

Consider hiring an ACT tutor for more personalized, one-on-one instruction tailored to your needs. A tutor can evaluate your current knowledge and help you determine which areas of study to focus on.

ACT fee waiver

ACT offers fee waivers for students who demonstrate financial need. You must meet the following eligibility requirements to apply for a fee waiver:

Be currently enrolled in the 11 th or 12 th grade in high school.

Take the ACT test in the U.S., U.S. territories, or Puerto Rico.

Meet one or more of these indicators of financial need:

The family’s total annual income is at or below USDA levels for free or reduced-price school lunches.

The student is enrolled in a program for economically disadvantaged students, such as Upward Bound or Gear Up.

The family receives public assistance or lives in federally subsidized public housing.

The student resides in a foster home, is a ward of the state, or is experiencing homelessness.

ACT originally stood for American College Testing. The name was shortened to ACT in 1996.

What is the ACT test?

The ACT is a standardized test used by most colleges and universities to make admissions decisions. The test measures a high school student's general educational development and their readiness for college-level education.

What is on the ACT test?

The ACT contains four tests with a total of 215 multiple-choice questions that measure the student's knowledge and skills in English, reading, mathematics, and science.

The ACT also offers an optional writing test with one writing prompt describing a complex issue and three different perspectives about that issue. Students must write an essay developing their own perspective on the issue and analyzing the relationship between their perspective and one or more of the other perspectives provided.

When do you take the ACT test?

Most students take the ACT during the spring of their junior year or fall of their senior year of high school. Make sure you leave yourself enough time to retake the test before applying to colleges if you're not happy with your score on the first attempt.

FAQs about the ACT test

How long is the act test.

The ACT consists of four multiple-choice tests and one optional writing test. The four multiple-choice tests take 2 hours and 55 minutes total, not including the 15-minute break between the second and third tests. The optional writing test lasts 40 minutes .

What is a good score on the ACT test?

What is considered a good ACT score varies by college. Highly competitive Ivy League colleges look for scores in the 30s, while other schools may consider scores in the mid-20s competitive.

Each section of the ACT test is scored from 1 to 36. The average score ranges are:

Below average: 1 to 16

Average: 17 to 24

Above average: 25 to 36

What is the difference between the SAT and ACT test?

The SAT and ACT cover many similar subjects, and neither test is necessarily better than the other. Most colleges accept scores from either exam and don't prefer one over the other. However, there are some differences between the two tests:

The ACT includes a science section, which may be beneficial for students pursuing a STEM degree.

The ACT offers an optional written essay section. The SAT no longer offers this option.

The SAT uses an adaptive scoring system that adjusts the difficulty and number of questions based on the student's performance on previous questions.

The SAT is shorter at 2 hours and 14 minutes, compared to 2 hours and 55 minutes for the ACT without the written section or 3 hours and 35 minutes with the written section.

The SAT allows more time per question, but the questions tend to be more complicated than those on the ACT.

Are the SAT and ACT tests important?

Most four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. require applicants to submit ACT or SAT scores as part of the admissions process. Schools receive thousands of applications each year, and high scores on the SAT or ACT help them narrow down their selection of students.

Scoring well on the SAT or ACT may help you qualify for more merit-based scholarships. A high score can also help students with less-than-stellar GPAs demonstrate their academic improvement.

How to find an ACT tutor

Preparing for the ACT with a tutor can help you achieve a higher score and eliminate the need to take the test again. Follow these tips to find a reputable ACT tutor near you :

Look for tutors with experience helping students prep for the ACT or for specific sections of the test.

Read reviews of ACT tutors on Tutors.com and Google.

Ask for references with contact information.

Confirm their tutoring experience and educational background.

Ask if they'll offer a trial session to see how well you work together.

Questions to ask ACT tutors

Ask these important questions to ensure you find the best ACT tutor for you:

What experience do you have tutoring students for the ACT?

Have you helped students improve their ACT scores?

Can you describe your teaching methods and style?

What is your hourly rate for tutoring?

How many sessions will it take to prep for the ACT?

Do you offer packages or discounts if I book multiple sessions?

Which ACT study materials do you recommend?

Do your prices include practice exams?

Can you provide references?

Using our proprietary cost database, in-depth research, and collaboration with industry experts, we deliver accurate, up-to-date pricing and insights you can trust, every time.

Trump and Allies Forge Plans to Increase Presidential Power in 2025

The former president and his backers aim to strengthen the power of the White House and limit the independence of federal agencies.

Donald J. Trump intends to bring independent regulatory agencies under direct presidential control. Credit... Doug Mills/The New York Times

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By Jonathan Swan Charlie Savage and Maggie Haberman

• Published July 17, 2023 Updated July 18, 2023

Donald J. Trump and his allies are planning a sweeping expansion of presidential power over the machinery of government if voters return him to the White House in 2025, reshaping the structure of the executive branch to concentrate far greater authority directly in his hands.

Their plans to centralize more power in the Oval Office stretch far beyond the former president’s recent remarks that he would order a criminal investigation into his political rival, President Biden, signaling his intent to end the post-Watergate norm of Justice Department independence from White House political control.

Mr. Trump and his associates have a broader goal: to alter the balance of power by increasing the president’s authority over every part of the federal government that now operates, by either law or tradition, with any measure of independence from political interference by the White House, according to a review of his campaign policy proposals and interviews with people close to him.

Mr. Trump intends to bring independent agencies — like the Federal Communications Commission, which makes and enforces rules for television and internet companies, and the Federal Trade Commission, which enforces various antitrust and other consumer protection rules against businesses — under direct presidential control.

He wants to revive the practice of “impounding” funds, refusing to spend money Congress has appropriated for programs a president doesn’t like — a tactic that lawmakers banned under President Richard Nixon.

He intends to strip employment protections from tens of thousands of career civil servants, making it easier to replace them if they are deemed obstacles to his agenda. And he plans to scour the intelligence agencies, the State Department and the defense bureaucracies to remove officials he has vilified as “the sick political class that hates our country.”

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Are You College-Ready?

The ACT helps you show it.

To help translate numbers on a test into preparedness in the classroom, ACT established its College Readiness Benchmarks: the ACT scores that indicate a student is ready for common first-year college courses.  

Setting the Bar for Success: Are You Ready for College-level Courses?

You want to succeed in college. Your school wants you to succeed. If you meet the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks, you are demonstrating that you are ready to jump into your first-year college courses from day one. When you take the ACT, your ACT score report includes your College Readiness Benchmark scores. To see them, log in to MyACT and select the AM I READY FOR COLLEGE tab below your scores. You will see a series of bars with your score in each subject, as well as the benchmark score indicated with a marker. 

If your score is at or above the BENCHMARK, then you have a good chance of passing an entry-level course in the same subject in college. If you don’t meet some of the benchmarks, you can focus your preparation on those areas if you decide to take the test again, or if you want to make sure you are on track as you head into college. If you’ve already taken the ACT, log in to MyACT to see your scores and benchmarks.  

What Are the ACT Benchmark Scores?

Based on an analysis of actual student performance in college from 214 institutions and over 230,000 students, the Benchmarks are the ACT subject scores that suggest a student has a high probability to succeed in related credit courses in college. 

Students who reach these Benchmark scores on the ACT have approximately a 50 percent chance of earning a B or better and approximately a 75 percent chance of earning a passing grade in the related courses. That means you can enroll with confidence that you are prepared for the coursework. 

How Do Schools Use ACT College Readiness Benchmarks?

In addition to demonstrating a student’s readiness, the Benchmarks can be used to aid in college course placement decisions, identify students who may need additional support, and to monitor improvement so students can successfully progress towards graduation at their university.

ACT College Readiness Benchmarks

*Your STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) score represents your overall performance on the science and math tests.

**Your ELA (English Language Arts) score represents your overall performance on the English, reading, and writing tests.

Resources To Prep for a Retest

Are you close to meeting all the Benchmarks? Check out official ACT test prep materials and schedule your retest to show you’re college-ready. 

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Australian breakdancer Raygun responds to critics: ‘I was never going to beat these girls’

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Raygun has broken her silence.

Not long after her breakdancing performances during the 2024 Paris Olympics were widely mocked across social media, the Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn also known as “Raygun,” responded to the criticism.

During a news conference with ESPN on Saturday, Gunn said she wanted to bring a unique style of dance to the competition.

“What I wanted to do was come out here and do something new and different and creative — that’s my strength, my creativity,” said Gunn. “I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best, the dynamic and the power moves, so I wanted to move differently, be artistic and creative because how many chances do you get that in a lifetime to do that on an international stage.”

2024 Paris Olympics

‘Everyone loved it.’ American B-girls proud to be part of breaking’s Olympic debut

American B-girls didn’t advance to the medal round of the first Olympic breaking competition, but they were proud to see their art in the spotlight.

Aug. 9, 2024

Gunn’s three performances Friday went viral because of their simplicity, unusual moves, and because each received a 0 from the judges. While breaking is scored on creativity, personality, technique, diversity, musicality, and vocabulary, many took to social media to poke fun at Gunn’s routines.

“Just because your country CAN send a breakdancer to the Olympics doesn’t mean you SHOULD…This woman Raygun from Australia is the most embarrassing ... I ever seen,” one user wrote on X.

“ I kinda feel bad for RayGun , the Aussie #BreakingForGold — but that routine was hilariously ridiculous,” another wrote.

“ Australia just set breakdancing back 40 years ,” another user said.

Long Beach — no, not Venice — stars in Olympics closing ceremony with Snoop, Dr. Dre, Billie Eilish

There was an almost comical air of secrecy as dozens, then hundreds, of workers buzzed around Rosie’s dog beach for the Olympics closing ceremony filming.

Aug. 11, 2024

Australia’s chief de mission, Anna Meares, defended Gunn during a news conference on Saturday expressing how disheartened she is about the online reaction.

“I love Rachael … I think that what has occurred on social media with trolls and keyboard warriors, and taking those comments and giving them airtime, has been really disappointing,” Meares said.

“Raygun is an absolutely loved member of this Olympic team … She has represented the Olympic team, the Olympic spirit with great enthusiasm. And I absolutely love her courage. I love her character, and I feel very disappointed for her, that she has come under the attack that she has.”

Gunn also fired back at critics of her green-and-yellow Australia team tracksuit with matching cap, posting on Instagram,”Looking forward to the same level of scrutiny on what the b-boys wear tomorrow.”

For Olympic newbie sports like breaking, there’s a lot more at stake than medals

Breaking, the newest Olympic sport, is trying to breakthrough on the biggest of stages. But will it satisfy the IOC’s desire for TV ratings and younger audiences?

During the news conference Saturday, Meares said the critiques against Gunn aren’t new and are part of a history of misogyny toward women in male-dominated sports experience. In 2008, she said she found Gunn in a room by herself crying.

“It took great courage for her to continue on and fight for her opportunity to participate in a sport that she loved,” Meares said. “That got her to winning the Olympic qualifying event to be here in Paris … She is the best breakdancer female that we have for Australia. “

More to Read

Letters to Sports: Breaking news! Was that really in the Paris Olympics

Aug. 17, 2024

Plaschke: Keep your medal! Olympian Jordan Chiles should slam door on misguided IOC

Jordan Chiles says bronze medal ruling ‘feels unjust,’ thanks fans for support

Aug. 12, 2024

Go beyond the scoreboard

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You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

Asia Moore is a reporting intern on the Los Angeles Times Fast Break Desk, covering entertainment news. She is a senior at Florida A&M University studying broadcast journalism and serves as the lead news editor for the Famuan and produces for the school’s news channel, FAMU TV-20.

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What Is a Good ACT Score? A Bad ACT Score? An Excellent ACT Score?

SAT/ACT Score Target

If you've taken the ACT and gotten your ACT test scores back, you probably want to know how you did. Or you might be planning for the ACT and want to know what ACT composite score to aim for. So what is a good ACT score?

In this article, we'll discuss what makes a good ACT composite score. We also give you a step-by-step guide to figuring out what a good ACT score is for you personally, depending on the colleges you plan to apply to. We'll also provide ACT score ranges for 38 popular schools and discuss what you can do if you fall short of your goal score.

Aside: Are you looking for SAT standards instead? If so, check out our SAT good score guidelines .

What Is a Good ACT Score Overall?

The ACT score range is from 1-36. As you might imagine, the higher your score, the better you did. But is there a certain cutoff that delineates a "good" ACT score?

To answer this question, it's important to understand how ACT scores work. Your composite score from 1-36 corresponds to a percentile that compares how you did to the general population of ACT test-takers. A higher percentile means you scored higher than that percentage of students. (So, a 55th percentile score means your score was higher than 55% of students).

Exclusive Free Bonus: Click here to download a free step-by-step guide on finding your personal ACT score target. Once you go through these steps, you'll know exactly what ACT score you need to aim for.

ACT test scores are set up to follow a normal distribution. This means that student performance tends to cluster around the middle of the scale—most test-takers score somewhere between a little below and a little above the average score. Far fewer test-takers score towards the higher and lower end of the scale.

The average ACT score is 19. If you've scored 20, then you've scored higher than 50% of test-takers. That's pretty good, depending on your frame of reference. A score of 24 places you at the 76th percentile—better than ¾ of test-takers!

Here's an abbreviated chart with ACT score percentiles for students from the class of 2023 to help you figure out how your scores position you among the overall student test-taker population:

In terms of benchmarks for ACT score percentiles, a score of 16 places you at the 35th percentile, meaning you've scored better than about a third of test-takers. This isn't a very strong score.

We've already noted that a 19 is an average ACT score, at the 50th percentile. A score of 24 means you've scored better than about 78% of students. A 28 means you've scored better than 90% of students, and a 30 means you've scored better than 94% of them! Anything 34 or above is in the 99th percentile —a truly phenomenal score.

You can also see that not many people score near the bottom and the top of the scale because there's so little percentile change between scores here. Composite scores in the 1-10 range are all in the 1st percentile, and composite scores from 35-36 are all in the 99th-100th percentile!

By contrast, around the middle of the scale at 20, where most test-takers are clustered, a bump of a few points makes a big difference: going from 18 to 22 moves you from the 47th to the 69th percentile—a whopping 22 percentile points! But a similar 4-point bump from 24 to 28 only takes you from the 78th to the 90th percentile. That's just a 12-percentile bump. And from 30 to 34 is only a 5-percentile increase.

You may notice that section percentiles are a little different than the composite scale. However, the same general score distribution holds.

So, to recap, compared to all test-takers:

• ACT score < 16 = bottom 35%
• ACT score of 21 = right in the middle! (average score)
• ACT score of 24+ = top 25%
• ACT score of 29+ = top 10%
• ACT of 31+ = top 5%
• ACT score of 35+ = top 1% of test-takers

If you get a 34 or higher, you've ascended ACT mountain.

What's a Good ACT Score for You?

We've discussed how your ACT score compares to all the other test-takers. But what's more important is what makes a good ACT score for you , personally, based on the schools you are interested in. A 29 places you in the top 10% of test-takers, and it's a strong score for admission to schools like Texas A&M, Penn State, Ohio State, and Clemson University. But a 29 would actually be a very low score for super-selective institutions like the Ivies, Duke, MIT, Stanford, and the University of Chicago.

By contrast, a 29 would be an incredibly high score for less selective schools, like Oregon State (average ACT score 25), Kansas State (average ACT score 24) and University of Southern Indiana (average ACT score 22). If those were your goal scores, you wouldn't need a 29; aiming for a score a little above average (in the 21-25 range) would be adequate.

So, what makes a good ACT score for you is all relative, and mostly based on where you are trying to get into college.

Of course, it's also worth noting that the higher your standardized test scores, the more likely you are to get offered merit scholarships. We're going to focus primarily on figuring out the score you need for admission in this guide, but it's something to keep in mind.

Another thing to consider is that a higher ACT or SAT score can help you if you have a lower GPA than a school is looking for . (However, this won't help you so much at particularly selective institutions—they'll expect applicants with pretty high marks across the board.)

How to Find Your Goal Score

So how do you find out what makes for good ACT scores for the colleges you're interested in? In this section, we'll walk you through a quick five-step process for figuring out the best goal score for you.

Step 1: Download This Worksheet

To work through the following steps, we'll be filling out a worksheet for all the schools you're planning to apply to. Click here to download it , or click the image below.

I recommend you print it out so that you can keep a paper copy of it next to your work space.

Step 2: Fill in the Schools You Want to Get Into on the Left

Fill in all the schools you're already sure you want to apply to in the leftmost column. If you don't know what schools you're aiming for yet, feel free to use ones that have been suggested to you, or use schools that your friends are interested in.

I recommend that you take the time to research schools first, though, so that you have a realistic target score. Because your goal score should be targeted to the schools you are actually interested in applying to, the more accurate your list of the schools you want to apply to, the more accurate your goal score will be.

Step 3: For Each School, Google "[Name of School] PrepScholar ACT"

For example, if I'm interested in U Alabama, I'll do the following search:

Click on the ACT and GPA post (or the Admission Requirements post, they'll both have the information) and scroll down to find the 25th and 75th percentile composite ACT scores for admitted students. For the University of Alabama, the 25th percentile score is 21. As a quick reminder, the 25th percentile means that 25% of admits have a score at or below that number. So 21 would be a below average score for admitted students for U Alabama.

The 75th percentile score for the University of Alabama is 28. That means that students with that composite score scored better than 75% of all the other admits. So scoring at that level or above puts you in the top quarter of admits score-wise—a very competitive score! In summary, the 25th/75th percentile range describes the scores of the middle 50% of all students admitted to a particular school.

If you score at the 75th percentile for any school, you have a great chance at getting in (assuming your other credentials are appropriate for the school). If you're at the 25th percentile, you'll need to have a particularly strong application to boost your odds of getting in.

For each school on your list, google the PrepScholar ACT score information and write down the 25th and 75th percentile scores in the appropriate row for that school on your goal score sheet.

Step 4: Calculate Your Final ACT Target Score

To calculate your target ACT goal score, look at the 75th percentile column. Find the highest score in that column. That's your composite score goal. If you score at the 75th percentile level for the most competitive school on your list, you'll be competitive at all your schools for test scores.

Another advantage of choosing a high goal score is that if you end up falling 1-2 points short, it's not a huge deal because you'll still be competitive for most of your schools.

You might be thinking—hey, wait! Why did I fill out that entire sheet if I was just going to pick the highest 75th percentile score? Well, the advantage of filling out all that information is that you now have it handy as a reference. You'll be able to check your ACT score against all your schools of interest as soon as you have it!

Step 5: Share Your Target Score

As a last step, I suggest that you do two things with your score target:

#1: Share it with your parents. This will be a helpful conversation around your personal goals and how you want to achieve your target ACT score. Plus, they can help keep you accountable throughout the preparation process!

#2: Tape it to your wall. This will keep your goal in mind, which will help keep you motivated to prepare.

Keep your goals in sight!

Good ACT Scores for Popular Schools

To make determining your goal score a little easier, here is an ACT score chart with the 25th-75th percentile composite ACT test scores for 2022 for 35 popular schools. I've also provided the acceptance rate and current U.S. News ranking to give you additional reference points as to how selective the school is.

What If My Score Is Too Low?

If you take the test and you get lower than your goal score, what should you do? Don't panic—you have a few options. We'll go over them here and help you figure out when you should consider them.

Strategy 1: Retake the Test

If you have the time to prepare for the test and retake it, this is probably your best strategy if you are really set on all your schools. (Unless you were only 1 or maybe 2 points under, in which case it might actually be a poor use of your time to retake the test—see strategy #2). You'll want to be sure to do a targeted prep of your weaknesses to have the best chance of actually improving your score.

You should also make sure you actually prepare for enough hours to make the meaningful difference in score that you need. Here are our rough estimates for how many hours of prep it will take for you to improve your composite score by a certain amount:

• 0-1 ACT Composite Point Improvement: 10 hours
• 1-2 ACT Point Improvement: 20 hours
• 2-4 ACT Point Improvement: 40 hours
• 4-6 ACT Point Improvement: 80 hours
• 6-9 ACT Point Improvement: 150 hours+

Strategy 2: Don't Worry About It

If you only missed your goal score by 1-2 points, depending on the schools you're applying to, you might not need to do anything. Let's say you were going for a 35, but you got a 34. You could retake the test, but you don't necessarily have to. If your 34 still puts you towards the top of the 25th-75th percentile range for your schools, it might make more sense to use the time and energy you would spend prepping for and retaking the test on other parts of your application.

However, if you were more than 2 points short of your goal score, you should consider strategies 1 or 3. And if you're applying to very selective schools, even 2 points might make a retake worth it.

Strategy 3: Adjust Your List of Schools

If you are 3+ points short of your goal score and you don't have time to retake the test, your best strategy is to adjust your list of schools. While you can (and should) still apply to your dream schools as reach schools, you'll need to make sure that you have enough strong match and safety schools for your scores.

Let's say you were going for a 32, but you got a 28. You may have had Boston University (middle 50% 31-33) as a match, but now it's more of a reach. And maybe you had Hofstra University (middle 50% 26-31) as a safety school but now it's closer to a match. So add some safety schools for your score, like SUNY Albany (middle 50% 22-31) and Pace University (middle 50% 23-28). You can see more on choosing appropriate safety, match, and reach schools here .

Safety (schools) are very important in the college application process.

Review: What Is a Good ACT Score?

So what is a good ACT score? Well, your composite ACT score corresponds to a percentile ranking that tells you how you did compared to all other test-takers. Nineteen is a 50th percentile, or average score.

However, it's more important to consider what's a good ACT score for you personally. And a good score is one that makes you competitive for the programs you are interested in!

We went over a 5-step process for determining a goal score. We also provided ACT score ranges for 35 popular schools.

Finally, we provided some advice for what to do if you miss your goal score. You can prepare and retake the test, do nothing (if you were pretty close to your goal), or adjust your list of schools.

Remember, the most important thing is figuring out what are good ACT scores for you personally! You won't necessarily need the same scores as some of your friends and peers.

What's Next?

Got ACT questions? We've got answers! See our ACT FAQ . We can also help you figure out how hard the ACT will be for you and why you might need to take the ACT .

We can help you figure out how important the ACT is for the college admissions process . And what's the minimum ACT score for college ?

Do you want to improve your ACT score? Check out our top guides:

• ACT Prep Guide: Practice Test, Critical Info, and Section Info
• How to Get a Perfect ACT score, by a 36 Scorer
• How to Get a 36 in ACT Reading , ACT Math , and ACT English

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How to Get a Perfect SAT Score, by an Expert Full Scorer

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How to Improve Your Low SAT Score

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How to Get a Perfect ACT Score, by a 36 Full Scorer

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How to Improve Your Low ACT Score

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Fred is co-founder of PrepScholar. He scored a perfect score on the SAT and is passionate about sharing information with aspiring students. Fred graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor's in Mathematics and a PhD in Economics.

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