Composite, STEM score, legacy composite and superscore
Updated October 2026
Enter each section’s scale score (1 to 36) from your score report, not the number of questions you got right. Add English, math and reading: 28 + 32 + 26 = 86. Divide by 3: 28.67. Round to the nearest whole number: Composite 29. If you took science, the STEM score averages math and science, (32 + 30) ÷ 2 = 31, and the legacy composite averages all four, 116 ÷ 4 = 29. The last line of the results says how many more section points would lift the Composite: three here, because a total of 89 averages 29.67, which rounds to 30.
| Enhanced ACT | Legacy ACT | |
|---|---|---|
| Composite | (English + math + reading) ÷ 3 | (English + math + reading + science) ÷ 4 |
| Science | Optional; separate science score and STEM score | Required; part of the composite |
| Sections (standard time) | English 50 questions in 35 min, math 45 in 50 min, reading 36 in 40 min, science 40 in 40 min | Four required sections |
| Rounding | To the nearest whole number; halves round up | |
Online national testing moved to the enhanced format in April 2025, paper national testing and the three-section Composite for all ACT tests followed in September 2025, and state and district testing in spring 2026. Previously reported Composites are not recalculated. ACT says the new Composite is comparable to the old one, so the 2018 ACT/SAT concordance still applies.
| Scores | Average | Composite | Legacy (4-section) | STEM | Superscore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default: E28, M32, R26, science 30 | 28.67 | 29 | 29 | 31 | — |
| E25, M25, R26, no science | 25.33 | 25 | — | — | — |
| E30, M29, R30 | 29.67 | 30 | — | — | — |
| Science-heavy: E24, M30, R24, science 34 | 26.00 | 26 | 28 | 32 | — |
| Default plus a second sitting of E30, M30, R29 | 28.67 | 29 | 29 | 31 | 30 |
The science-heavy row shows who lost from the change: a 34 in science lifted the legacy composite to 28, but the enhanced Composite ignores it and lands at 26, with the strength showing up in the STEM score instead.
| ACT Composite | Graduating class of 2026 scoring at or below | Concordant SAT total |
|---|---|---|
| 36 | 100% | 1590 |
| 32 | 97% | 1430 |
| 29 | 93% | 1340 |
| 28 | 91% | 1310 |
| 24 | 81% | 1180 |
| 20 | 63% | 1040 |
| 16 | 40% | 890 |
The national average Composite for the 2026 graduating class was 19.2, across 1,463,293 tested students. SAT figures are the single concordant totals from the 2018 ACT/College Board concordance tables.
A superscore averages your best English, math and reading scores from different test dates. ACT uses the best score from each section whether it came from a legacy or an enhanced test, and the superscore Composite no longer includes science. Many colleges accept superscores, but policies vary, so check each school.
Worrying about the .5 rule. Three section scores always average to a whole number or end in .33 or .67, so an enhanced Composite never lands exactly on a half. The round-half-up rule mattered for the four-section average.
Adding science or writing. Neither counts toward the enhanced Composite. Writing produces its own score and feeds an ELA score with English and reading.
Entering raw scores. The calculator needs the 1–36 scale scores. Raw-to-scale conversion varies by test form, so a practice test’s own conversion table is the only reliable way to convert.
Comparing an old composite with a new one. A legacy composite with a strong or weak science score can differ from the enhanced Composite on the same section scores by a point or more, as in the scenarios above.