What is an ACT percentile?

It is the percentage of recent ACT test takers who scored at or below your composite. A 90th percentile composite means you did better than about 90 percent of students. It reflects relative standing rather than the number of questions answered correctly.

Which distribution does this use?

It uses ACT Inc.'s national rank tables for recent graduating classes, which report the cumulative percent of students at or below each composite score. These are the figures printed on ACT score reports.

What is a good ACT composite?

The national average composite is around 19 to 21. A score of 24 sits near the 74th percentile, 30 near the 93rd, and 33 or above places you in roughly the top 2 percent, the range typical of highly selective colleges.

Why do percentiles change near the top?

Very few students score above 33, so each point at the top of the scale represents a large jump in rarity. A 35 already sits above 99 percent of test takers, which is why the top percentiles compress.

Do percentiles change every year?

Yes, slightly. ACT updates its national rank tables annually as new cohorts test, so a given composite can move a point or two in percentile across years. This tool uses recent published figures.

ACT Score Percentile Calculator

Email me this result

Get this tool's output sent to your inbox, plus one useful tool a week. No spam, unsubscribe any time.

See how your ACT composite ranks nationally

An ACT composite from 1 to 36 gains meaning when placed against the national pool of test takers. This calculator maps your composite to a national percentile using ACT Inc.’s published rank tables, showing what share of students you outscored.

How it works

The tool stores ACT’s national cumulative percentile for each composite score from 1 to 36. The cumulative percentile is the percentage of test takers scoring at or below that composite. When you enter a score, the tool simply reads the matching percentile from the table — no interpolation is needed because the composite is a whole number.

Example and notes

A composite of 24 corresponds to about the 74th percentile, while a 30 sits near the 93rd. Because so few students score above 33, the top percentiles compress: a 35 already exceeds 99 percent of test takers. ACT refreshes its rank tables each year, so percentiles shift slightly between cohorts.