ACT® Score

Within four to seven weeks of the test date, ACT scores are mailed to students, their high school and designated colleges. For an extra fee of $8, ACT scores can be viewed online 2 1/2 weeks after the test date. The ACT score ranges from 1 to 36, 36 being the highest attainable score.

The ACT Score reflects the number of questions answered correctly (raw score), converted into a scaled score. No points are deducted for incorrect answers, so experts recommend that students answer every question they can on the exam. This doesn’t mean students need to rush through the ACT test simply to get every question answered; pacing yourself is still crucial. It does mean, however, that you should try to answer all the “easy” questions first, returning to the more difficult ones afterwards.

But technology isn’t perfect. Some room must be left for error when scoring, hence the standard error of measurement. This number was developed as a way to estimate the amount of error in test scores. The standard error of measurement in individual sections is two points for each section and one point for the composite score. You can calculate the standard error of measurement by adding and subtracting these numbers from your individual and composite scores to get your range of scores. Confusing? Here's an example: If you scored 21 on the science section, your accurate score for science lies between 19 and 23. If your composite score is 23, that means your final score lies between 22 and 24.