Your total Writing score will be out of 36 just like the other sections. You will get a score from 2 to 12 on your essay in four different assessment categories. The ACT also has an optional essay, but the Writing section will not impact your composite score or any of your test subscores. (note that different tests have different raw score to scaled score conversion charts, but this is generally the right idea). Any questions you answer incorrectly or omit will not count towards your score. English has 75 questions, Math has 60, Reading has 40, and Science also has 40.Ĭheck out this sample conversion chart to see how raw scores are converted to the final scores on a scale of 1-36:

The ACT doesn’t have an incorrect answer penalty, so your raw score on each section is just the number of questions you get right. The ACT has four sections: English, Math, Reading, and Science. Each one is also scored on a scale of 1 to 36, and the average of these four scores will make up your composite score. On the ACT, your composite score can be anywhere from a 1 to a 36. Unlike the SAT, the composite score is not the sum of the scores of the other tests - it’s the average.

In this article, I’ll take you through the basics of how the test is scored, show you where your scores fall in relation to other students, and give you a few tips on how to plan your studying to meet your goals. If you’re planning on taking the ACT, you’re probably wondering what you can expect in terms of scores.

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