ACT Superscore Calculator

Three steps, and the third is where most calculators go wrong.

1. Take your highest English score from any test date.
2. Do the same for Math and Reading — each one independently, from whichever date it happened on.
3. Average those three and round. Science is not included on the Enhanced ACT, because it is not part of the composite.

ACT’s rounding instruction is to round down a fraction below one half and round up a fraction of one half or more. A raw average of 26.67 becomes 27; 26.33 becomes 26.

Three sittings, with the best score in each section marked. This is the example loaded in the calculator above.

(30 + 29 + 31) ÷ 3 = 30 exactly. The best single sitting was a 28, so superscoring is worth two points here — and notice that every one of the three dates contributed something. No single sitting was the good one.

That is the normal case, not a contrived one. Section scores bounce around between sittings, and the more dates you have, the less likely it is that one of them happened to be your best at everything.

A stale list is worse than no list, which is why our list of which colleges superscore for scholarships shows the date each school’s wording was last read, and quotes the school where it states a position. Note that it answers the scholarship question specifically — a university can superscore for admission and read a single sitting for merit money. What you will find falls into three groups:

• Superscores. Combines your best sections across dates. A retake can only help your number.
• Highest single sitting. Takes your best composite from one date and ignores the rest. A retake still helps, but only if that whole sitting beats your previous best.
• Considers all scores. Sees every sitting without combining them. Usually harmless, occasionally a reason not to send a weak early date.

One practical note that catches people out: superscoring usually requires you to send every score report involved, so the school can see the sections it is combining. If you only send your best date, there is nothing to superscore from.

The useful consequence of superscoring is that it changes what a test date is for. If you are only judged on a single sitting, every date has to be strong everywhere. If you are superscored, each date can have a job.

• Target the section with the most room, not the lowest score. A 22 that has been 22 three times is not where your next point is. A 26 in your strongest subject often is.
• Two or three sittings captures most of the gain. The first retake is usually the big one; by the fourth, your strong sections have topped out.
• A lower section score costs you nothing at a school that superscores. It simply is not used.
• Check score-release timing against deadlines. Scores take roughly two to four weeks for the multiple-choice sections, so the last useful date is earlier than the deadline suggests.

See the remaining 2026–2027 test dates and when scores arrive →

Report whichever the school asks for, and do not assume they are the same number. Your composite is the average of three sections from one sitting. Your superscore is the average of your best three sections from any sitting.

For scholarship grids and self-reported applications, the number that counts is whatever the school’s policy says it uses — which is why it is worth knowing both. If a merit threshold sits one point above your best single composite but at or below your superscore, that one policy detail is the difference.

Work out what those points are worth in merit aid →

• Enhanced ACT score calculator — convert a raw practice-test score to a scaled score first.
• ACT percentile calculator — see where your superscore ranks nationally.
• How ACT superscoring works — the longer guide, including sending scores.
• How many times should you take the ACT? — planning sittings around a superscore.
• How to improve an ACT score — picking which section to target next.