What is a good ACT score?

There is no single "good" number. A good score is one that fits the colleges you actually want — here is how to find yours.

The scale, briefly

Each of the three sections that make your composite — English, Math, and Reading — is scored from 1 to 36. Your composite is the average of those three, rounded to the nearest whole number, also on the 1–36 scale. (Optional Science and Writing are reported separately and do not change the composite.) A 36 is a perfect score; very few students earn it.

"Good" is relative to your target schools

The most useful move you can make is to ignore national averages and look at your colleges. Every school that considers test scores publishes the middle-50% range (the 25th–75th percentile) of admitted students' ACT scores, usually on its admissions or "class profile" page. If your score lands in or above that range, your test is helping your application at that school. Make a short list of the colleges you care about, write down each one's middle-50% range, and your target becomes obvious.

Rough tiers, as a starting point

Until you have your college list, these general bands help you orient. They are approximate — always defer to a specific school's published range.

• Above the national average — a composite in the low 20s already puts you ahead of most test-takers.
• Competitive for many state flagships and selective schools — mid-to-high 20s.
• Strong for highly selective schools — 30 and above.
• Top-tier / most selective — 33 and above.

Two things that quietly help your score

• Superscoring. Many colleges take your best section scores across multiple test dates and recombine them into a higher composite. That means retaking to lift just one weak section can raise the score a college sees.
• Balance beats one spike. Because the composite is an average, raising your weakest section usually moves your composite more than pushing an already-strong section higher.

What to do with this

Take a diagnostic to find your starting composite, list your target schools' middle-50% ranges, and aim to land at or above them — focusing your study on your lowest section first, since that is where the average moves fastest.

Find your starting score → How ACT scoring works →

Score bands are general guidance, not guarantees; admissions decisions weigh far more than a test score. Confirm each college's current ranges on its official website.