ACT Score Calculator
Enter your English, math, reading and optional science scores for each ACT you have taken. The calculator works out each test's composite under the rules for that version of the test, the STEM score, and your superscore from your best sections. Free, no sign-up.
Your ACT tests
Enhanced: online National tests from April 2025 and every test from September 2025. Legacy: earlier tests, whose composite included science.
Test 1
Test 2
Result
28
ACT superscore
27 · test 2
Best English
27 · test 1
Best math
29 · test 2
Best reading
26 · test 1
Best science
27
Four-section superscore, the rule before September 2025
(27 + 27 + 29) ÷ 3 = 27.67 → 28
Each test
| Test | Version | Composite | STEM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Legacy | 26 | 27 |
| 2 | Enhanced | 27 | — |
How to Use the ACT Score Calculator
- 1. Add each test. Enter the section scores from each score report, from 1 to 36. Science is optional on the enhanced ACT — leave it blank if you skipped it.
- 2. Set the version. Choose Enhanced for online National tests from April 2025 and every test from September 2025, and Legacy for earlier tests, whose composite included science.
- 3. Read your superscore. The calculator takes your best English, math and reading scores across all your tests, averages them and rounds the way ACT does.
- 4. Check each test. The table lists every test's composite and STEM score, and each best section shows which test it came from.
How the ACT Composite Changed in 2025
The enhanced ACT made the science section optional, so the composite changed with it. On the enhanced ACT the composite is the average of English, math and reading; on the legacy ACT it was the average of all four sections. ACT reports the new composite for online National tests from April 2025 and for every test from September 2025, and it treats the two composites as interchangeable — a score report does not say which version produced it (ACT, Interpreting Scores on the Enhanced ACT, 2025 guidance for schools and colleges).
| Score | Enhanced ACT | Legacy ACT |
|---|---|---|
| Composite | (English + math + reading) ÷ 3 | (English + math + reading + science) ÷ 4 |
| Science | Optional, reported on its own | Required, part of the composite |
| STEM | (math + science) ÷ 2, when science is taken | (math + science) ÷ 2 |
Every average is rounded to the nearest whole number: ACT rounds fractions of one-half or more up and smaller fractions down.
The superscore now uses English, math and reading only. ACT takes your best score in each of the three from any test since September 2016, legacy or enhanced, averages them and rounds the result. The superscore report still lists your highest science and STEM scores, and the calculator shows the old four-section superscore for reference.
Worked Example
A student takes the legacy ACT and scores English 24, math 27, reading 25 and science 26: (24 + 27 + 25 + 26) ÷ 4 = 25.5, which rounds up to a composite of 26, with a STEM score of (27 + 26) ÷ 2 = 26.5, rounded to 27. On an enhanced ACT later they score English 27, math 26 and reading 29 and skip science: (27 + 26 + 29) ÷ 3 = 27.33, a composite of 27.
The superscore takes English 27 and reading 29 from the second test and math 27 from the first: (27 + 27 + 29) ÷ 3 = 27.67, rounded to 28 — higher than either composite. Under the old four-section rule, adding the best science score of 26, it would have been (27 + 27 + 29 + 26) ÷ 4 = 27.25, or 27.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How is the ACT composite score calculated?
- On the enhanced ACT it is the average of your English, math and reading scores, rounded to the nearest whole number. On the legacy ACT it was the average of all four sections, science included. ACT rounds a fraction of one-half or more up, so an average of 25.5 becomes 26.
- Does science count in the ACT composite anymore?
- Not on the enhanced ACT. Science is optional, and if you take it ACT reports a separate science score and a STEM score — the average of math and science — next to the composite. ACT notes that colleges and scholarship programs may still consider science and STEM scores, so check before you skip it.
- How does the ACT superscore work?
- ACT averages your best English, math and reading scores from every test you have taken since September 2016, legacy or enhanced, and rounds the result. Science no longer counts in the superscore, though the superscore report still shows your highest science and STEM scores.
- Can I combine scores from the old and new ACT?
- Yes. ACT says section scores from the legacy and enhanced tests are interchangeable, and its superscore uses your best score in each section whichever version it came from.
- Do all colleges accept the ACT superscore?
- No. Colleges set their own score-use policies: some superscore, some consider your highest single composite, and some ask for every score you have. Check each college's admissions page before you decide which scores to send.
- What is the ACT STEM score?
- The STEM score is the average of your math and science scores, rounded the same way as the composite, and it is reported only when you take the science section. Math 27 and science 26 give a STEM score of 27.