ACT Retake Policy and Superscoring

ACT retesting has no cap. You are allowed to sit for the ACT as many times as you want, and most students test two or three times before applying to college. This guide covers the retest rules, fees, and dates for the 2026-27 cycle, plus a policy students often mix up: a single-section retest option, which does not currently exist.

Superscoring changes how those multiple attempts count. Colleges with a superscore policy combine your best section results across test dates into one composite, so a strong Math score from October and a strong Reading score from December both count toward your final number. This article breaks down the superscore formula, which colleges accept it, and when a second or third sitting is worth your time and money.

How Many Times You Are Allowed to Retake the ACT

ACT places no limit on retakes: the organization confirms there is no limit to how many times students are allowed to take the ACT, though most test two to three times before applying to colleges. Nothing in the policy forces you to wait out a set gap between attempts or to stop after a fixed number of tries. Your practical limits are the national test calendar, the registration deadlines, and your budget, so plan your sittings early enough for your final scores to reach colleges before their deadlines.

ACT names several common reasons students choose to retest:

• Test-day problems, such as a forgotten calculator or misread directions
• Not feeling well physically on test day
• Inadequate preparation time before the first attempt
• Test anxiety during the exam
• Performance below your expected ability
• Additional learning since the last attempt

ACT publishes national test dates about a year in advance. The 2026-27 cycle runs seven national test dates:

Each retake costs money, and fees rise for late changes or a switched test center. The table below shows 2026-27 ACT fees:

Students with financial need do not have to pay full price for every retake. Eligible 11th and 12th graders in the US qualify for up to two fee waivers, and each waiver covers the base fee, optional Science and Writing add-ons, the ACT Self-Paced Course, My Answer Key on qualifying dates, and up to six free score reports. The cap of two waivers means a third or later sitting returns to full price, so plan which dates matter most before you register.

The Enhanced ACT Single-Section Retest Option

Some students expect an option to retake one weak section instead of the entire exam. ACT does not offer this today. ACT's own retest page states students are not able to retake specific sections of the ACT, and instead earn a superscore from their full attempts.

ACT researched a section-retest, or modular testing, option in a February 2020 technical brief. The plan called for a September 2020 launch, limited to students who had already completed a full battery and would retest online. This pilot predates the Enhanced ACT and never became a standing offer. As of the 2026-27 testing year, no live single-section retest exists.

How Superscoring Works

The ACT Superscore averages your best scores from each section across multiple test attempts, per ACT's official definition. You qualify once you have tested more than once since September 2016. ACT calculates and reports the superscore automatically, with no request or extra form needed.

Enhanced ACT Superscore Calculation

For test dates using the Enhanced ACT format, ACT adds your best English, Math, and Reading scores from any attempt, legacy or enhanced, divides the total by three, and rounds to the nearest whole number. Writing sits outside the composite even if you sat for it. Because each section comes from your strongest date, one improved section lifts the average on its own.

Legacy ACT Superscore Calculation

For test dates before the Enhanced ACT rollout, ACT adds your best English, Math, Reading, and Science scores, divides by four, and rounds to the nearest whole number. This four-section formula applies to attempts taken under the legacy blueprint, so it matters most for students who first sat the ACT before the 2025 change and are reading older score reports. If your attempts span both formats, ACT still pulls your best English, Math, and Reading results from any test event, legacy or enhanced, into the current three-section superscore. A legacy Science score stays on your record, but it no longer feeds the current composite.

Science moved out of the core composite with the Enhanced ACT, which rolled out for online test-takers in April 2025 and became universal in September 2025. Under the Enhanced ACT, Science sits as a separate optional section feeding a standalone STEM score instead of the main composite. A Science result from an enhanced sitting therefore raises your STEM score alone and leaves your three-section composite unchanged.

The table below compares the two superscore formulas side by side.

Both formulas work off your scaled section scores, not your raw counts of correct answers. The averaging step runs only after every attempt has its own section scores, so a superscore never blends parts of a section across dates. For a full walkthrough of raw answers turning into scaled section scores, see our guide to ACT scoring.

Do Colleges Accept ACT Superscores?

Not every college uses superscores in admissions decisions, though the number of colleges accepting them keeps growing. Colleges without a superscore policy still receive full score data for every attempt you send, and admissions staff sometimes review each attempt by hand. Treat the superscore as an advantage at schools with the policy, not as a way to hide a weaker sitting.

Check each target school's admissions page or score-use policy before you decide how many attempts to send. A school without a superscore policy weighs each sitting on its own, so an extra attempt has to raise your full composite to help you there. Our guide to ACT score reporting covers how ACT sends scores to colleges and how the superscore appears on official reports.

When a Retake Is Worth It

ACT's own research gives a rough benchmark for expected gains. Students who scored between 13 and 29 on their first attempt gained about one point on average when they retested. Students who reviewed their exam with ACT's My Answer Key before retesting saw roughly double the average score gain compared with students who skipped this review.

Superscoring shifts the retake math in your favor. Because ACT keeps your best section score from every attempt, a retake only needs to raise one weak section to raise your composite, even if your other scores stay flat or dip slightly. A retest makes the most sense when one section sits well below your other sections and pulls your composite down with it.

Compare your current composite against your target range before you register again. Our guide to what counts as a good ACT score breaks down national averages and the ranges selective colleges look for, so you know how much of a gain you need. When you are ready to close a section gap, we offer free ACT practice tests and section drills, no signup required, so you spend your study hours on the section holding your composite back.

Sources

• Reasons to Retest | ACT
• Section Retesting: Do Students Perform as Expected? (ACT Research & Policy Technical Brief)
• Superscore FAQs | ACT
• How to Calculate Your ACT Superscore | ACT
• Enhanced ACT FAQs | ACT
• ACT Test Dates | ACT
• Fees | ACT
• ACT Fee Waiver: Eligibility Requirements and Procedures 2026-2027