Kristin Fracchia

ACT Raw Score Conversion Chart

If you find yourself in need of a rough score estimate after taking an ACT practice test, or if you simply want an estimate of how many questions you need to get right to get a certain ACT score, the following official ACT raw score conversion chart can help!

Once you’ve checked out the chart, learn more about how to take your raw ACT score and convert it into an official composite ACT score on the 1 to 36 point scale.

act raw to scaled scores magoosh

The chart below presents the raw scores on ACT Tests 1-4 (English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science), with their equivalent scaled scores in the right-most columns.

Raw ACT Scores and Scaled ACT Scores

Raw Score English Raw Score Math Raw Score Reading Raw Score Science Scaled Score
72-75 58-60 39-40 38-40 36
70-71 56-57 38 37 35
68-69 54-55 37 36 34
67 53 35-36 35 33
66 51-52 34 34 32
65 49-50 33 31
64 48 33 30
62-63 46-47 32 32 29
61 44-45 31 31 28
60 41-43 30 27
58-59 39-40 29 30 26
56-57 37-38 28 28-29 25
53-55 35-36 27 26-27 24
51-52 33-34 26 25 23
48-50 31-32 24-25 23-24 22
45-47 30 23 22 21
42-44 28-29 21-22 20-21 20
40-41 26-27 20 19 19
38-39 24-25 19 17-18 18
36-37 21-23 17-18 15-16 17
33-35 17-20 16 13-14 16
30-32 13-16 14-15 12 15
27-29 10-12 12-13 11 14
25-26 8-9 11 10 13
23-24 6-7 9-10 9 12
19-22 5 7-8 8 11
16-18 4 6 7 10
13-15 5 6 9
11-12 3 5 8
9-10 4 4 7
7-8 2 3 3 6
6 5
4-5 1 2 2 4
3 1 3
2 1 2
0-1 0 0 0 1

Liam got a 35 on the ACT. Get a higher ACT score with Magoosh.

Source

Need help improving your ACT score? We have you covered.

You can choose between a live cohorted class with an instructor (which includes all our lessons and practice questions) or access to the self-study option by itself.

Important Vocabulary

ACT Raw Score: The number of questions you answered correctly in the section. For example: If you answer 55 questions correctly on the ACT English Test, then your raw score for ACT English is 55.

ACT Scaled Score: The score that you get on each section of the ACT test after your raw score is scaled. Your scaled score ranges from 1-36, with 36 being the highest possible score on a section. For example, if you answer 55 questions correctly on the ACT English Test, then your scaled score for ACT English is 24.

ACT Composite Score: The average of your four scaled scores (English, Math, Reading, and Science). The highest possible composite score is 36.

How to Use This ACT Raw Score Conversion Chart

What do you need to do to figure out your ACT score based on your raw score? Follow this process:

  • Take an ACT practice test (when you get your official ACT results, this conversion is provided for you)
  • Add up the number of questions you answered correctly in each section; this is your raw score
  • Take your raw English score and look at the ACT score chart to find your scaled score
  • Repeat for Math
  • Repeat for Reading
  • Repeat for Science
  • Average your four scaled scores by adding them together and dividing by four. This is your ACT composite score!

Here’s an example

Let’s say you took a practice test and you got the following scores:

  • Raw scores: 70 in English, 42 in Math, 37 in Reading and 35 in Science.
  • Using the chart, your scaled scores are: 35 in English, 27 in Math, 35 in Reading, 30 in Science.
  • Add your scaled scores together: 35+27+35+30 = 127
  • Divide the total by 4 to get your composite score: 127/4 = 31.75–>32
  • Not bad! In this case your ACT Composite Score is 32. (Related: What is a good ACT Score?)

    When to Use This ACT Raw Score Conversion Chart

    When prepping for the ACT exam, it’s important to take at least one (or hopefully a few) full-length ACT practice tests, which you can find on Magoosh. We recommend finding a quiet spot, like the library or your room with the door closed, on a weekend when you don’t have a lot going on. You can time yourself (no cheating!) and try to recreate realistic test conditions as much as possible. Not only will this help you get used to a long, grueling standardized test, but it will also help you perfect your timing and pacing strategies.

    The trouble is, after you sit down for a 4+ hour exam, plus an extra 20-30 minutes of grading your own test, you’re left with a raw score. This is where the chart comes in. Use the ACT raw score conversion chart to turn your raw score into a scaled score so that you can get a better idea of how well you might do on test day.

    Questions? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

    Happy studying!

    Author

    • Kristin Fracchia

      Dr. Kristin Fracchia has over fifteen years of expertise in college and graduate school admissions and with a variety of standardized tests, including the ACT, SAT, GRE, GMAT, and LSAT, with several 99% scores. She had a PhD from the University of California, Irvine, an MA degree from The Catholic University, and BA degrees in Secondary Education and English Literature from the University of Maryland, College Park. She was the recipient of the 2013 Excellence in Teaching Award and the Chancellor’s Club Fellowship from the University of California, Irvine. She’s worked as a high school teacher and university professor, as an independent college and graduate school admissions counselor, and as an expert tutor for standardized tests, helping hundreds of students gain acceptance into premier national and international institutions. She now develops accessible and effective edtech products for Magoosh. Her free online content and YouTube videos providing test prep and college admissions advice have received over 6 million views in over 125 countries. Kristin is an advocate for improving access to education: you can check out her TEDx talk on the topic. Follow Kristin on LinkedIn!

    More from Magoosh