ACT Percentiles Explained

An ACT percentile, officially called a national rank, shows the share of recent high school graduates who scored at or below your score. Your scale score is the converted 1 to 36 score ACT reports for each section and the composite. A composite score of 22 carries a national rank of 72, meaning 72 percent of recent graduates scored 22 or lower on the ACT, according to ACT's national ranks page.

National rank tables come from a specific reporting year and a rolling group of recent graduates, so your test date determines which table applies to your score report. The tables in this article cover the 2025-2026 reporting year, for ACT tests taken between September 2025 and August 2026, based on the 2023, 2024 and 2025 graduating classes. Your scale score stays fixed on your report forever. The rank printed beside it belongs to the reporting year of your test date. Match the table to your test date before you compare yourself against other applicants.

Percentile Rank vs Scale Score

Your ACT scale score and your percentile rank measure two different things. The scale score is the converted 1 to 36 result ACT reports for each section and the composite. The composite is the average of the English, Math and Reading scores, each also reported on the 1 to 36 scale, rounded to the nearest whole number, according to ACT's test enhancements page. Science is optional on the enhanced ACT, and its score feeds the STEM score, not the composite. A scale score on its own carries no comparison against other test takers.

Percentile rank, ACT's national rank, converts your scale score into a comparison against other test takers. A national rank of 72 for a composite score of 22 means 72 percent of recent high school graduates scored 22 or lower on the ACT. Two students with the same scale score in the same reporting year read the same national rank, because one table maps every score to one rank.

Current ACT Composite Percentile Table (2025-2026)

The table below lists the national rank for every ACT composite score from 36 to 1, current for the 2025-2026 reporting year, according to ACT's 2025-2026 National Ranks report. Find your composite in the left column and read the national rank on the right. Ranks compress at both ends of the scale: several low scores share the 1st percentile, and 34 through 36 sit at the 99th or 100th. The widest jumps happen through the middle of the scale, between 12 and 28.

Section-Level Percentiles vs Composite

A given scale score does not carry the same percentile in every section. The same scale score maps to a different national rank in each section, according to ACT's National Ranks report. ACT reports a STEM rank in the same table, alongside the four section ranks and the composite rank. Reading and Science ranks run lower than English and Math ranks at both scores below. The table compares scores of 22 and 18 across each section, the composite and STEM.

Average Scores and Spread

ACT also publishes the mean score and standard deviation for each section, showing how scores spread around the average, according to ACT's National Ranks report. The mean marks where the middle of the pool sits. The standard deviation shows how tightly scores cluster around the mean, and Math, Science and STEM cluster more tightly than English and Reading.

ELA and Writing Percentiles

Students who take the optional ACT Writing test also receive ELA and Writing percentiles, reported in a separate table, according to ACT's ELA and Writing National Ranks report. These ranks come from a smaller pool, because Writing is optional. Compare an ELA or Writing rank only against other ranks from the same table, never against the composite table above. The two tables rest on different groups of test takers, so the same rank number carries a different meaning.

ELA combines English, Reading and Writing scores. A score of 36 ranks at the 100th percentile, 24 at the 87th, 18 at the 59th and 12 at the 21st. The mean ELA score is 17.5, with a standard deviation of 5.7.

Writing is scored separately from the multiple-choice sections. A score of 12 ranks at the 100th percentile, 8 at the 93rd, 6 at the 61st and 4 at the 21st. The mean Writing score is 6.1, with a standard deviation of 1.8. These figures cover only students who chose the Writing test, according to ACT's ELA and Writing National Ranks report.

Why ACT Percentile Tables Change Every Year

ACT reissues the National Ranks tables every reporting year, from September through August, using the three most recent high school graduating classes. The current tables use the 2023, 2024 and 2025 graduating classes, effective for tests taken from September 2025 through August 2026, according to ACT. Each new edition drops the oldest graduating class and adds the newest one. The 1 to 36 score scale stays the same, so only the rank beside each score gets recalculated.

A 2026-2027 edition had not been published as of August 2026. Check ACT's national ranks page for the newest table around September 2026, when scores from more recent graduates roll into the ranking. Until then, the 2025-2026 table is the current reference for score reports. If you tested before September 2025, use the edition covering your test date rather than the one on this page.

Using Percentiles to Judge a Good ACT Score

A percentile turns a raw scale score into context. A composite of 24 sounds solid on its own, and a national rank of 80 makes the meaning concrete: 80 percent of recent graduates scored 24 or lower. The same reading applies across the scale, so a 30 lands at the 94th percentile and a 20 lands at the 63rd. Percentiles also show where extra points buy the most ground. A rise from 16 to 20 lifts your rank from 40 to 63, while a rise from 30 to 34 lifts it from 94 to 99.

Percentiles never move on their own. If your composite changes after a retake, look the new number up in the composite table to get the matching national rank. Percentile gaps run uneven across the scale, so a one-point gain near the middle shifts your rank more than a one-point gain near the top. A move from 21 to 22 adds four percentile points, while a move from 34 to 35 adds none.

Percentile Bands and Score Targets

Score bands make the table easier to act on. Each band below groups composite scores by how much of the recent graduate pool sits above them, using the 2025-2026 national ranks. Read the third column as the share of recent graduates who scored above the lowest score in the band. Pick the band matching your target, then work back to the composite score you need.

Bands set a floor, not a goal. The national mean composite is 19.2, so a 20 at the 63rd percentile already sits above the average recent graduate. Compare your latest practice composite against the band you want, then measure the gap in percentile points instead of scale points. For target-score research by major and selectivity tier, see our guide to what counts as a good ACT score, and for a full breakdown of how raw answers convert to scale scores, read our ACT scoring guide.

Practice full-length ACT tests and section drills on our ACT prep hub, free and with no signup required. Score a full practice test, then look the composite up in the table above to read your projected national rank. Repeat the check every few weeks and track the percentile, not the scale score alone.

Sources

• ACT National Ranks and Score Percentiles
• ACT Score National Ranks 2025-2026 (PDF)
• ACT ELA and Writing National Ranks 2025-2026 (PDF)
• ACT Test Enhancements