How's the English section in the ACT scored?

So I've been doing a bit of ACT prep lately. The English section's a bit of a puzzle to me. Could someone explain how the scoring for the English section works? I've seen some score charts, but I'm not quite getting it. Is the score based on passing a certain threshold or percentage of questions right?

Of course, I'd be glad to explain! The English section on the ACT is scored based on the number of correct answers you have. There are 75 questions in the English section and you get 1 point for each correct answer, making a raw score out of 75. There's no penalty for guessing, so it's beneficial to answer all questions even if you're unsure.

Your raw score is then converted into a scaled score, which ranges from 1-36. The conversion isn't done on a percentage basis. Instead, it uses a process called equating that's designed to ensure that the scores are consistent across different test editions. This means that getting, for instance, 70 out of 75 questions correct on one test date could potentially result in a different scaled score if you achieved the same raw score on a different test date.

The conversion process involves comparing raw scores across a range of tests to determine comparable levels of performance and assigning the same scaled score to them. So, the score you see on the score report is the scaled value.

Lastly, remember that your English section score contributes to your composite ACT score, which is an average of your four section scores, rounded to the nearest whole number. Each section—English, Math, Reading, and Science—is weighted equally, so each section score contributes equally to your composite score.

Hope this helps clarify things a little! Keep up with the studying, and best of luck with your ACT prep!