Setting a Goal ACT Score

What does this mean?

Are these good scores? Bad scores? How many questions did I get right? Wrong?? Now what???

Feels like a mystery, doesn’t it? You sit for three hours (actually, a little LONGER than three hours) to take a bunch of tests: English, Math, Reading, Science… and then you wait. Finally, your score arrives and it’s a ….26.

Or whatever.

What does that even mean??? And how do you RAISE that score??

Let’s break it down and chase away the confusion.

Understand the scoring.

Find a score chart to understand how many correct answers will earn you what ACT score.

FIRST

Here is a score chart for a recent ACT. Not every ACT is scored on exactly the same chart. It’s a long explanation why, but let’s just establish that they’re all pretty close to this one. If you look down the left and right sides, you’ll see a “Scale Score”. That’s what you normally see as your ACT Score.

The numbers in the middle columns (under English, Math, Reading, Science) show you how many questions you need to get right in order to earn that score.

SECOND

If you haven’t taken an ACT yet, or even a full practice test, you should start by doing that. Take it, and then use the answer key to check your answers. See how many you got right, and then use the chart for that test to see what your scores are…RIGHT NOW.

You can get a free ACT at this link.

THIRD

It’s like GPS

First, you need to know where you are now.

Then, you decide where you want to be.

Finally, you make the plan to get from A to B!

Once you know where you are now, you can make a plan for where you want to be on your next test.

For example, maybe you got 25 math questions correct, and you find that your score for that is an 18. You decide (maybe) that you really want to get to a score of 21. If you look at the chart, you’ll see that you need to get 30 questions correct to earn a 21. Well, that’s just 5 more math problems out of 60! Totally doable! Take a look at the questions you missed, and work on those skills. (Read more here about how to raise your ACT Math Score!)

When you know how many questions you are currently getting right….

And you know how many questions you need to get right to earn your target score…

Then you can make a plan to close that gap and reach your goals!