What is a Good ACT Score in 2021?

One most commonly asked question about ACT is “what is a good ACT score?”. A Good ACT score actually depends on the colleges/universities that you desire to apply for.

A national average ACT score ranges from 21-23, scoring above the average line gives you higher opportunities to apply for admissions at many universities. Scoring 21 or above is a good score, however, a good score also depends on the college you want to apply for. For an elite college, a good ACT score is 30+ where the percentile is 93 and above.

If you are looking for what is a good ACT score, then you are in the right place. In this article, we will explore what is a good ACT score, how is the ACT scored, and more.

Also, Read - what is the highest act score you can get

What is the ACT?

The ACT stands for American College Testing, which is an institutionalized test that calculates the student’s ability, talents, and knowledge by considering five subject areas, that is English, Maths, Science, Reading, and writing, where writing is optional. It is a part of the college admission process.

This ACT test composes of four multiple-choice sections as aforementioned- English, Math, Science, and one essay writing section. The total time allotted will be 2 hours and 55 minutes.

The essay writing section is optional the candidate may or may not take this section. but in case if the student is taking the optional essay writing section, then the time allotted will be 3 hours 35 minutes.

One thing that students should keep in mind is that there is no negative marking, so try to cover all the questions as you can.

The ACT Format

The breakdown of each section is below mentioned in the table.

Section	Time limit per questions	Content covered
English	45 minutes for 75 questions.	Grammar, sentence structure, organization, and style
Maths	60 minutes for 60 questions.	Algebra 1,2, 3, Trignometry, coordinate geometry and plane geometry,
Science	35 minutes for 40 questions.	Problem-solving, interpretation analysis, evaluation, and reasoning.
Reading	35 minutes for 40 questions	Reading and comprehension of what is implied or directly stated.
Writing(optional)	40 minutes for 1 essay.	Writing skills

How is ACT Scored?

After knowing the ACT format, you might still be wondering how the ACT is scored? Understanding how the ACT is scored and scoring mechanism give you a big advantage to set clear goals so that you can schedule your study.

Each section/subject is given a scaled score between 1 and 36. These scores are then averaged into your composite score which also ranges between 1 and 36.

The scaled scores which range between 1 and 36 are derived from your raw scores from each subject area or sections.

The raw scores are nothing but the total score you get for answering correctly from the questions in each section.

And this composite score is the average of the student’s ACT score in all four subject-areas which is rounded down to 25, for example when a student scores the following points in each section, English- 24, Maths- 26, Science- 25 and Reading- 23

Then the Composite score of the student will be=(24+26+25+28)/4=25.75, the score is rounded down to 25.

These standardized tests like the ACT, SAT, GMAT, and more, uses scaled scores to ensure that their scores are consistent throughout multiple test dates.

For English, the raw score is calculated by the addition of three categories; Production of Writing (POW) out of 23, Knowledge of Language (KLA) out of 12, and Conventions of Standard English (CSE) out of 40.

For Mathematics, the raw score is calculated by the addition of two categories; Preparing for Higher Math (PHM) out of 35, Integrating Essential Skills (IES) out of 25, and Modeling (MDL) as an additional category which is not included in the total raw score for mathematics.

For Reading, the raw score is calculated by the addition of 3 categories; Key Ideas & Details (KID) out of 25, Craft & Structure (CS) out of 11, and Integration of Knowledge &Ideas (IKI) out of 4.

For Science, the raw score is calculated by the addition of three categories; Interpretation of Data (IOD) out of 18, Scientific Investigation(SIN) out of 12 and Evaluation of Models, Interferences & Experimental Results (EMI) out of 10.

The ACT provides a table that estimates how the raw scores will translate into scaled scores on each section of the ACT.

source:act.org/ACT test guide.

ACT Score Percentiles (2020-2021)

The ACT percentiles are rankings used for comparison of your ACT score with the other students who took the test, this percentile lets you know how many people scored higher than you or scored equal to or lower than.

Don’t misunderstand the word Percentile, it is not like a grade out of 100 given in any other tests, but a specific comparison with you and other students.

For example, if a student gets in the 60th percentile, then this means that the student as scored more or less higher than the 60% of test-takers.it doesn’t necessarily mean that the student has scored 60% in the ACT Test.

Source: ACT norms

What is a good ACT score?

A good ACT score can vary depending on the college you choose. Usually scoring above 21 is terms as a good score. One of the frequently asked question is, "is 30 a good ACT score?" Te answer is Yes, 30 is a good ACT score and it yields an ACT score percentile of 93. this expands your choice of applying for college and also enhances your selectivity.

Here is a comprehensive analysis of a good score for ACT 2020-2021.

ACT score	Category of the test-takers
35 and above (Best)	Top 1%
31 and above (Excellent)	Top 5%
29 and above	Top 10%
24 and above (good)	Top 25%
21 and above (average)	Middle section
16 and below (Poor)	Bottom 25%

What is a good ACT Writing score?

A candidate can score an average score of 6.5 in the 2019-2020ACT Writing test. For admittance in top ranking colleges, a score of 8 and above needs to be earned. Let us look closely at the ACT Writing score chart.

Percentile	Score
100 (Best)	12
99 (Outstanding)	11
99	10
96 (Excellent)	9
90 (Good)	8
66	7
50 (Average)	6
27 (Poor)	5
14 (bottom 14%)	4
5 (bottom 5%)	3
2 (bottom 2%)	2

Number of trials allowed for ACT

You can take the ACT test maximum up to 12 times, irrespective of the time and test date limitation. The ACT is administered about seven times a year in the months of September, October, December, February, April, June, and July.

It is excessive, but don’t waste your time and money by attempting one exam after the other, so be clear on the number of times you’ll be taking the test. Also trying other competitive and entrance exams like SAT, GMAT and etc.

The first attempt can be taken as a trial in order to get clarity about the types of questions that are being asked and to get note of the time taken so that you can plan your timing efficiently next time.

How to score high for the ACT?

The maximum score that you achieve out of ACT is 36. Though it is a small number, Only two percent of the students score above 33. Every year out of millions of students, only a few thousand get into the top scores list

Score	No of Students	Percentage of total test-takers
36	3,741	0.195%
35	14,928	0.780%
34	21,836	1.140%
33	26,930	1.406%

source:ACT.org

But with proper practice and planning, you too can score the highest marks.

Tips that help you score good in ACT

1. Aim for the top

If you’re a teen and this is your first time taking the ACT test, then try to score at least above 22, because 21 is the national average, this will have you placed in the top half of the other students who took the test.

2. Practice makes a man perfect

Before starting your ACT Preparation, work on your weakness and your constraints, If you’re weak in maths then take your time, practice more problems in maths, or if it is the science or any others.

You learn from your mistakes!

Be clear with the patterns of your mistakes and keep in mind, so that you can solve the problems with ease.

3. Be a Grammar Nazi

Don’t go easy on English, thinking that it is the easiest part, sometimes grammar can do the trick of lowering your scores, revise the grammar portions, be clear with the punctuations, and practice reading more and more.

4. Understanding is the key

Try to adapt the key Test strategies, learn how to understand and the questions fast, Incase if you’re out of ideas about a specific question, then try mild guessing. Learn how to guess it right. To make your guess, also use the elimination method, try to remove the most unsuitable choices, until you are left with the right choice. This works most of the time.

5. Have a game-plan

Before taking the actual ACT test, practice Full-length Tests, as many ACT coaching experts say “plan your study, study by your plan.” Planning and time management is very crucial. Plan accordingly based on your reading and problem-solving speed.

6. Seek professional help

Joining an academy or coaching would be a good idea if you can’t manage the portions on your own.

To learn more about the ACT test preparation visit: ACT test prep guide.

ACT scores (2020-2021) for Colleges and Universities

A good ACT score actually depends on the Colleges/ Universities that you’re aiming for. For example, if you aim at going to Arizona State University, then considering that college 28 is a way too good score, but if you consider going to Yale University, then the ACT score of 28 would not be enough, hence for that university 32 is the good ACT score.

Here is the list of most popular colleges for your ACT score and the acceptance rate for that college/university.

Universities accepting ACT Score above 30

Rank	College Name	ACT 25th Percentile	ACT 75th Percentile	Acceptance Rate
1	Stanford University	31	35	5
2	University of Southern California	30	33	17
3	Harvard University	32	35	5
4	Northeastern University	31	34	29
5	University of Pennsylvania	32	35	9
6	Cornell University	31	34	14
7	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	33	35	8
8	Rice University	32	35	15
9	Columbia University	32	35	7
10	Duke University	31	34	11
11	Brown University	31	34	9
12	University of California-Berkeley	31	34	17
13	Yale University	32	35	6
14	Boston College	30	33	31
15	Washington University in St.Louis	32	34	17

Universities accepting ACT scores between 25-29

Rank	College Name	Act 25th Percentile	ACT 75th Percentile	Acceptance Rate
1	New York University	29	33	32
2	University of California-Los Angeles	28	33	18
3	University of Michigan-Ann Arbour	29	33	29
4	University of Texas-Austin	26	32	40
5	Penn State	25	29	56
6	Boston University	28	32	29
7	University of Florida	27	31	46
8	The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	28	33	27
9	University of Virginia	29	33	30
10	University of Georgia	26	31	54
11	Tulane University	29	32	26
12	Purdue University	25	31	56
13	University of Washington	26	32	45
14	Syracuse University	25	29	52
15	University of Miami	28	32	38

Universities accepting ACT score between 20-24

Rank	College Name	ACT 25th Percentile	ACT 75th Percentile	Acceptance Rate
1	Texas A&M University	24	30	67
2	James Madison University	22	27	72
3	Temple University	22	28	52
4	Michigan State University	24	29	66
5	San Diego State University	23	28	35
6	University of California-Irvine	24	30	41
7	Arizona State University	22	29	70
8	University of Delaware	22	29	70
9	California State University-Long Beach	20	26	32
10	Indiana University-Bloomington	24	30	79
11	University of San Francisco	23	28	71
12	The University of Alabama	23	31	53
13	High Point University	21	26	79
14	University of Central Florida	24	28	50
15	Liberty University	21	28	24

Universities accepting ACT score between 16-19

Rank	College Name	ACT 25th Percentile	ACT 75th Percentile	Acceptance Rate
1	San Francisco State University	18	24	68
2	California State University-Fullerton	19	24	48
3	California State University-Chico	19	24	65
4	North Carolina A&T State University	18	23	48
5	California State University-Northridge	16	23	48
6	Old Dominion	18	25	85
7	California Baptist University	19	24	64
8	Florida A&M University	19	24	31
9	Stockton University	19	24	77
10	California State University-Sacramento	17	22	72
11	Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania	18	23	78
12	Western Michigan University	19	25	82
13	La Salle University	19	25	77
14	Portland State University	19	25	89
15	Clark Atlanta University	18	21	72

Universities accepting ACT score below 16

Rank	College Name	ACT 25th Percentile	ACT 75th Percentile	Acceptance Rate
1	California State University-Los Angeles	15	20	64
2	Prairie View A&M University	15	19	85
3	Virginia State University	15	19	94
4	California State University-Dominguez Hills	15	19	48
5	Texas Southern University	15	19	51
6	Bowie State University	15	19	41
7	Alabama State University	15	19	46
8	Bethune-Cookman University	15	18	64
9	New Jersey City University	15	17	85
10	Dean College	15	17	85
11	Lincoln University of Pennsylvania	15	19	87
12	Coppin State University	15	18	40
13	South Carolina State University	14	17	86
14	Fort Valley State University	10	19	26
15	Central State University	15	18	42

What are the new guidelines for the ACT?

The ACT has introduced changes into its constitution, with effect from September 2020.

ACT Superscoring has been initiated for students who attempt the test multiple times. The candidate’s best scores from each section would be taken into account to formulate the final ACT score.
Students are allowed to retake the ACT for individual sections of the test, instead of sitting for the entire exam.

The Takeaway

We can’t define what is a good ACT score, a good score according to your perception may not be good to others or to the Colleges/Universities. Or It can be the other way around, an average or bad ACT score according to you may be a good score for others or even to the institution that you are aiming for. So set aside your perception and aim for higher ACT scores, prepare well, take coaching classes, take full-length tests until you are clear and ready to go.

As a teen or an adult, scoring above 22 is a good score by general comparison with other students who scored below the average line, you may never know what is a good score, but for a good score, it should serve you the purpose of getting you into your desired college.