How do ACT percentages relate to scores?

Hi guys, I've been practicing for the ACT and I'm curious how percentage correct relates to the actual ACT scores. Can anyone help me understand this?

Hi there! The ACT is scored on a scale of 1 to 36, with 36 being the highest possible score. Your composite score is an average of your scores on the four sections: English, Math, Reading, and Science. Each section is scored independently, also on a scale of 1 to 36.

To understand how the percentage of correct answers relates to your ACT score, you should be aware of the concept of "scaled scores." When you take the ACT, your raw score for each section is calculated by simply counting the number of questions you answered correctly. However, due to slight variations in difficulty between different tests, raw scores may not accurately reflect your performance. To address this, raw scores are then converted to scaled scores using a process called equating.

The equating process takes into account the difficulty of the test version you took and ensures that a specific scaled score represents the same level of ability, regardless of which test version you took. This conversion from raw scores to scaled scores is done using a table provided by the ACT for each specific test.

In summary, the percentage of correct answers you achieve on the ACT corresponds to a raw score. The raw score is then converted to a scaled score ranging from 1 to 36 for each of the four sections, taking into account the difficulty level of your specific test. Your composite score, also ranging from 1 to 36, is determined by averaging the four scaled scores.

Keep in mind that since the conversion varies for each test, there's no fixed percentage-to-scaled-score mapping. However, generally speaking, as your percentage of correct answers increases, so will your scaled score. To get a better idea of how you might fare on the actual ACT, you can refer to the score conversion tables included in the official ACT practice tests. Good luck with your preparation!