What Is a Good ACT Score?
The honest answer depends on your list. Your ACT score is doing its job when it sits in or above the middle of the range at the colleges you’re applying to. A 24 might be a great result for one student and a stretch target for another.
For the national picture, the average Composite is about 19.1, and a 20 has a national rank of 63, meaning about 63% of recent ACT-tested graduates scored 20 or lower. Scores climb in rank quickly after that, as the table shows.
Where common Composites rank
| Composite | National rank | Rough read | SAT match |
|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | 99 | Top tier: in range almost everywhere | 1500 |
| 30 | 94 | Strong: fits many selective colleges | 1370 |
| 27 | 89 | Solid: well above most | 1280 |
| 24 | 80 | Good: comfortably above the middle | 1180 |
| 21 | 68 | Above average | 1080 |
| 19 | 58 | Right around the average | 1010 |
| 16 | 41 | Below average: room to grow | 890 |
National rank: share of ACT-tested high school graduates of 2024, 2025 and 2026 at or below that Composite, from ACT’s current national ranks table. SAT column: official 2018 concordance. “Rough read” is our own plain-English summary.
Set your own target in 3 steps
- List five to eight colleges, from reach to safe.
- Look up each one’s middle-50% ACT range on its admissions page or in its Common Data Set (section C9). If a college lists only SAT ranges, run them through our SAT to ACT converter.
- Aim near the top of the range at your reach schools. Once you are there for most of your list, more ACT points rarely matter as much as your grades and essays.
Test-optional colleges let you choose. If your Composite is below a college’s middle range, not sending it can be the better call. Policies change, so check each one.
Is a retake worth it?
Retake when your Composite is under the range for colleges you care about and you can name what you will fix. A retake with no new practice often lands close to the first try, because scores wobble a little but don’t jump on their own.
ACT reports a superscore built from your best English, Math and Reading across test dates, and many colleges accept it. If yours do, a retake only helps.
What to study next, by Composite
- Under 20: the core rules. On English, punctuation and agreement; on Math, algebra and percent. Small, steady sessions.
- 20 to 25: your lowest of English, Math and Reading. Because the Composite is an average, lifting your weakest section by three points moves the Composite by about one.
- 26 to 30: pacing and the harder late questions in Math and Reading.
- Above 30: careless errors. Track every miss, and every guess that happened to be right.
Start with a free official ACT practice test, then use our original ACT practice questions and a week-by-week study plan.
Questions
What is the average ACT score?
About 19.1 for the Composite, based on ACT-tested high school graduates of 2024, 2025 and 2026.
Is a 24 a good ACT score?
A 24 has a national rank of 80, so about four in five test takers scored 24 or lower. It matches about a 1180 on the SAT and fits the typical range at many public universities.
Does the optional Science section count?
Not toward the Composite on the Enhanced ACT. It gets its own score and feeds a separate STEM score, and some colleges and scholarships still look at it.
Is ACT or SAT easier?
Neither is easier overall; they reward different strengths. Take one official practice test of each and compare the results with our converter.
For additional information, visit ACT’s national ranks and ACT/SAT concordance pages.
Scores, tables and percentiles are for general information, may change, and do not predict a test-day score or an admission decision. Provided as is, with no warranty; check the official source before you rely on them.