How ACT Is Scored?
The ACT, a standardized test used for college admissions in the United States, is scored based on multiple-choice questions in four subject areas: English, Math, Reading, and Science. Here’s a brief overview of how the ACT is scored:
Raw Score Calculation:
You receive one point for each correct answer on the ACT. There is no penalty for incorrect answers, so it’s beneficial to guess if you’re unsure.
The raw scores in each section are then converted to scaled scores.
Scaled Score:
The scaled score for each section ranges from 1 to 36.
Your scaled scores from each section are averaged to give you a composite score, also ranging from 1 to 36.
Composite Score:
The composite score is the average of your four scaled section scores (English, Math, Reading, and Science).
This score is what most colleges use to evaluate your performance.
Writing Section (Optional):
The Writing section in ACT is scored separately on a scale of 2 to 12.
Your Writing score does not affect your composite score but is reported separately.
Score Report:
You receive a score report that includes your composite score, section scores, and subscores (if you took the Writing test), along with percentile rankings.
Percentile Rankings:
Your percentile ranking in ACT test shows where you stand compared to other test takers. For example, a percentile ranking of 75 means you scored higher than 75% of test takers.
Super Scoring:
Some colleges practice super scoring, where they consider your highest section scores from multiple ACT sittings to create a new, higher composite score.
Remember, the ACT is just one part of your college application, and colleges consider various factors like GPA, extracurricular activities, essays, and recommendations in addition to your standardized test scores.
Find us on facebook