The ACT scores are intended to reflect an individual student’s college readiness and ability to do college level work in the skill areas tested. Understanding how the test is scored is important as it can affect the approach a student takes in actually taking the test, and in making decisions related to the individual academic strengths and weaknesses that the scores may reveal.

It is important to note that only correct answers are counted when the test score is calculated. Points are not deducted for incorrect answers, so when taking the test students should try to answer all the questions that time allows. The total number of correct answers is counted for each test and then changed to a scale score. Converting a score to a scale score ensures that the score means the same regardless of the edition or date the test was taken. The test scores for the individual tests in Mathematics, Reading and Science range from a low of 1, to a high of 36. Composite ACT scoring is simply an average of all four tests. The scores are rounded up or down to the nearest whole number.

The subscores represent how many questions the student answered correctly for each specific area within the general subject test. For example, the English test has 75 questions. Of the 75, there are 40 that relate to Usage and Mechanics, and 35 that measure Rhetorical Skills. The subscores for each test are also calculated through the same method, but the total composite range of scores is from a low of 1, to a high of 18. The subscores are separately computed; they have no mathematical relationship to the specific area test scores. This means that your subscores will not add up to your test scores.

The writing section of the test is optional, although several schools do ask for a writing score and include it into their admission decisions. The writing score can only affect the score of the English section of the ACT, and can only reduce it by a maximum of 2 points. The essays are scored on a point system of 0 through 6 points; However, receiving a 0 is based on factors not related to writing content. They are read and scored by two different readers, and then, if the scores are different, they are read again by a senior reader who makes the final decision. The scores are added for the final score range of 0 through 12 points.

The National Ranks listed next to a student's score shows the percentage of recent high school students who took the ACT test and scored at or below the student's score. By analyzing ACT scoring, a student can determine where their academic strengths and weaknesses are relative to their high school peers.  The ACT scores as a percentile and for different universities also help students determine how well they did (or need to do).