ACT Superscore: How It Works and How to Calculate Yours
· 5 min read
Superscoring is the most underused advantage in ACT prep. If the schools on your list accept it, a retake can only help you — and it lets you do something far easier than scoring well across three sections on the same morning.
An ACT superscore is a composite built from your best English, best Math and best Reading across all your test dates, rather than from one sitting. On the Enhanced ACT, Science is optional and excluded from the composite, so superscoring uses three sections.
Work out your superscore
Built for the Enhanced ACT, where the composite is English, Math and Reading only — most superscore calculators still average four sections and return the wrong number. Free, no signup.
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How to calculate your ACT superscore
- Line up every ACT you've taken
- Take your highest English scale score from any date
- Take your highest Math from any date
- Take your highest Reading from any date
- Add the three and divide by three
- Round to the nearest whole number
Worked example
| Section | March | June | Best |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | 28 | 31 | 31 |
| Math | 30 | 27 | 30 |
| Reading | 25 | 29 | 29 |
| Composite that sitting | 28 | 29 | — |
Superscore: (31 + 30 + 29) ÷ 3 = 90 ÷ 3 = 30
Neither sitting produced a 30. The superscore does — because it takes the best of each.
Work out your superscore from every test date → Convert raw practice scores to scale scores first →Why this changes how you prepare
Without superscoring, you have to be good at everything on the same morning. With it, you can take the test twice and focus each attempt on different sections.
That's a genuinely easier task. Preparing to lift one weak section over six weeks is far more achievable than maintaining three simultaneously — and a bad section on a retake costs you nothing, because it simply isn't used.
Practically:
- First sitting: take it cold or lightly prepared. Establish a baseline across all sections.
- Between: find the lowest section and work almost exclusively on it.
- Second sitting: your other sections will likely hold, and the weak one moves.
Find out which section to target on your retake
A projected score for every section and the concepts costing you the most points — which is exactly the list a focused retake needs.
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Which schools superscore?
Policies vary and they change, so this is a check-each-school exercise rather than a list to memorise. The three patterns you'll encounter:
| Policy | What it means |
|---|---|
| Superscore | Best section scores combined across dates |
| Highest single sitting | Your best composite from one test day |
| All scores considered | Every attempt is visible and reviewed |
Check the admissions page of each school on your list. And check the scholarship page separately — merit aid can follow a different rule than admission at the same university, which is a distinction that costs families money when they assume.
We have already done this for 209 colleges: which colleges superscore the ACT for scholarships lists who commits to it, who refuses, and the 145 who publish nothing either way, with each school's own sentence where there is one.
ACT itself calculates a superscore automatically for students with two or more scored tests taken since September 2016, and will send it where schools accept it.
When a retake is worth it
Usually worth it if:
- Your schools superscore — a section score can only help
- One section is clearly below the others
- You have six or more weeks to prepare for a specific weakness
- You're near a merit scholarship threshold
Probably not worth it if:
- You're already at or above your target at every school
- You have under two weeks and no plan
- The test date's scores would arrive after your deadlines
That last one catches people. Scores take one to four weeks, and many merit priority deadlines fall on December 1 — which the December test date comes after.
Check which test date still makes your deadlines →What superscoring doesn't do
It doesn't hide your other scores. Schools that see all scores see all of them. Superscoring is about which ones they use.
It doesn't apply to Science in the composite. Science is excluded from the Enhanced ACT composite either way. If a school asks for Science, your best Science score is normally what they consider.
It isn't universal. Assuming a school superscores when it doesn't can change which test date you should target.
Related
Frequently asked questions
What is an ACT superscore?
A composite built from your best score in each section across every ACT you have taken, rather than from a single sitting. If you scored 28 English on one date and 31 on another, the superscore uses the 31. ACT calculates one automatically for students with two or more scored tests since September 2016.
How do you calculate an ACT superscore?
Take your highest English, your highest Math and your highest Reading from any test dates, add the three together and divide by three, then round to the nearest whole number. On the Enhanced ACT, Science is optional and excluded from the composite, so it does not enter the calculation.
Do colleges accept ACT superscores?
Many do, but not all, and policies change. Some use your highest single-sitting composite instead, and a few consider every score you have ever earned. Always check the specific admissions page of each school on your list rather than assuming — and check the scholarship page separately, since merit aid can follow a different rule.
Is it worth retaking the ACT if my school superscores?
Usually yes. With superscoring, a section score can only help — a lower score on a retake is simply not used — so the main costs are the registration fee and the time. The gain comes from being able to focus a retake on one or two weak sections rather than maintaining all of them at once.
Does superscoring include the Science section?
Not in the composite. On the Enhanced ACT the composite averages English, Math and Reading only, so a superscored composite uses those three. If a school asks for Science separately, your best Science score is normally what they consider.
How many times should I take the ACT?
Most students take it two or three times. ACT allows up to 12 attempts. If your schools superscore, two or three sittings with targeted preparation between them is usually the efficient play — more than that tends to produce diminishing returns relative to the time spent.