ACT Test Scores: National Ranks

Interpreting National Ranks and Averages

Your national ranks tell you how your scores compare to those earned by recent high school graduates who took the ACT. The numbers indicate the percentage of students who scored at or below a given score.

What's an ACT Score Percentile Ranking? 

An ACT score percentile ranking compares your score to those of other test-takers, helping to measure your performance. Colleges use this ranking to assess and compare applicants.

National Ranks for English, Math, Reading, Science, Composite, and STEM Scores

• Based on ACT-tested high school graduates of 2023, 2024, and 2025
• Used for ACT tests taken from September 2025 through August 2026

How to use the table: Using the leftmost column, find the row for one of your content area test scores or your Composite score. Next, find the national rank in the column corresponding to that test. For example, the national rank for a Composite score of 22 is 72. This means that 72 percent of recent high school graduates who took the ACT achieved a Composite score of 22 or lower. Similarly, the national rank for a STEM score of 26 is 88. Thus, 88 percent of recent high school graduates who took the ACT achieved a STEM score of 26 or lower.
 

ACT Score National Ranks
Score	English	Math	Reading	Science	Composite	STEM	Score
36	100	100	100	100	100	100	36
35	99	99	98	99	99	99	35
34	97	99	97	99	99	99	34
33	96	98	95	98	98	98	33
32	95	98	93	97	97	98	32
31	94	97	91	96	96	97	31
30	93	96	89	95	94	95	30
29	91	94	87	93	92	94	29
28	90	93	85	92	91	92	28
27	88	91	83	91	88	90	27
26	86	88	80	89	86	88	26
25	84	85	78	86	83	85	25
24	81	81	75	82	80	81	24
23	77	77	71	76	76	77	23
22	73	74	66	70	72	73	22
21	69	71	60	65	68	68	21
20	63	68	55	59	63	63	20
19	58	64	50	53	57	58	19
18	53	60	46	47	52	51	18
17	49	53	41	40	46	44	17
16	46	45	37	33	40	35	16
15	40	32	32	26	34	26	15
14	33	20	27	19	27	17	14
13	27	10	21	14	20	10	13
12	22	5	16	10	12	4	12
11	17	3	9	6	5	2	11
10	11	1	4	3	2	1	10
9	6	1	2	2	1	1	9
8	3	1	1	1	1	1	8
7	2	1	1	1	1	1	7
6	1	1	1	1	1	1	6
5	1	1	1	1	1	1	5
4	1	1	1	1	1	1	4
3	1	1	1	1	1	1	3
2	1	1	1	1	1	1	2
1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Mean	18.6	19.0	20.1	19.6	19.2	19.5
SD	7.0	5.6	7.1	5.8	6.1	5.4

ACT Score National Ranks (PDF)

National Ranks for ELA and Writing Test Scores

• Based on the subset of ACT-tested high school graduates of 2023, 2024, and 2025 who took the ACT Writing test
• Used for ACT tests taken from September 2025 through August 2026

ACT Score National Ranks for ELA and Writing Test Scores
Score	ELA	Writing
36	100
35	99
34	99
33	99
32	99
31	99
30	98
29	97
28	96
27	94
26	92
25	90
24	87
23	84
22	80
21	76
20	71
19	65
18	59
17	53
16	47
15	40
14	34
13	27
12	21	100
11	15	99
10	10	99
9	7	97
8	4	93
7	2	74
6	1	61
5	1	34
4	1	21
3	1	9
2	1	4
1	1
Mean	17.5	6.1
SD	5.7	1.8

ACT Score ELA and Writing National Ranks (PDF)

Note: These ranks are reported as “US Rank” on ACT score reports during the 2024-2025 reporting year (September 2024 through August 2025). The ranks are based on ACT-tested high school graduates of 2022, 2023, and 2024 who took the ACT Writing test (n=1,083,008).

How to use the table: Using the leftmost column, find the row for your ELA or writing score. Next, find the national rank in the column corresponding to that test. For example, the national rank for a writing score of 9 is 97. This means that 97 percent of recent high school graduates who took the ACT writing test achieved a writing score of 9 or lower.

What Is the ACT Subscore Percentile? 

An ACT subscore percentile reflects the percentage of test-takers who scored at or below your score in a particular section of the ACT. Percentiles are an essential measure for understanding your performance on the test.

Using the ACT Score Percentiles and Rankings in your College Search 

Find the ACT score range for each college.

When researching colleges, check the 25th and 75th percentile ACT scores for admitted students to understand the middle 50% score range.

Compare your ACT score to the college's range.

If your ACT score is within the middle 50% of a college's admitted students, you are considered a competitive applicant.

Identify "reach," "match," and "safety" schools:

• Reach schools: Colleges where your ACT score is near the top of their range typically indicate a more competitive admissions process..
• Match schools: Colleges where your ACT score falls firmly within their middle 50% range typically indicate a good fit for your application.
• Safety schools: Colleges where your ACT score is well above their middle 50% range suggest a higher likelihood of acceptance.

View Your Scores

Create or sign in to your ACT web account for access to your scores anytime, anywhere. Scores are processed and added each week, so start checking two weeks after your test date.