What’s a Good ACT Score in 2026? Percentiles, Benchmarks, and the Number That Actually Matters

Almost every family asks this the same way: “Is a 24 good?” And the honest answer is — good for what?

A 24 is excellent if your target school's scholarship tier starts at 23. A 24 is short if it starts at 25. Same number, two completely different situations. So let's take both halves: where a score stands nationally, and how to find the number that actually applies to your student.

Half one: where scores stand nationally

The national average ACT composite sits right around 19 to 20 and has hovered there for several years. That means a composite of 21 already places a student above the national average.

Here's roughly how composites map to national rank — the percentage of recent test-takers who scored at or below that number.

Half two: the only number that actually matters

National percentiles are context. Your student's target score is a decision. Here's how to find it in about fifteen minutes:

1. List five to eight schools your student is actually considering — the real list, not the dream-only list.
2. Look up each school's middle 50% ACT range (published in their Common Data Set or admissions page). The top of that range is a safe target; the middle is competitive.
3. Now open the scholarship page for each one. This is the step families skip, and it's usually where the biggest money is sitting. Merit tiers are often published as exact score cutoffs.
4. Take the highest number you found across all of them. That's the target. Write it somewhere your student sees it.

What almost always happens: the scholarship cutoff is higher than the admission range. A student gets admitted at a 24 and gets paid at a 27. That three-point gap is the entire reason to prepare.

Admission tells you if you can go. Your ACT score often decides what it costs.

What the Enhanced ACT changed — and what it didn't

The Composite is now the average of three sections: English, Math, and Reading. Science is optional and reports separately. The 1–36 scale didn't change, and neither did what colleges expect from it.

What did change is weighting. With three sections instead of four, each one carries more of the Composite. A weak section pulls harder than it used to — which is also the good news, because lifting the weakest section is now the fastest path to a higher Composite. Three points on one weak section moves the Composite about a full point.

If the number in front of you feels far away

Then look at the gap, not the total. A student sitting at 21 who needs a 25 doesn't need to become a different student. They need four points, spread across three sections — which is a handful of question types, learned properly, over a handful of weeks.

I've watched a Climber go 34 to 36. I've watched 29 to 35. I've watched 15 to 31, and 12 to 27. Those last two didn't start with anything special on a score report. They started with a plan and steady weeks.

Your number isn't a verdict on your student. It's a starting altitude.

Common questions

What is the average ACT score?

Roughly 19 to 20. Anything above 20 is above the national average.

Is a 24 a good ACT score?

Yes — it sits well above average, near the mid-70s percentile, and is competitive at many state universities. Whether it's good enough depends on your student's target school and scholarship cutoffs.

What ACT score do you need for scholarships?

It varies, but merit money commonly starts in the 25–27 range and climbs in tiers. Check each school's published scholarship page — the cutoffs are usually exact numbers.

Does “good” mean something different now?

No. The scale is the same. But with a three-section Composite, each section matters more.

Percentile ranks reflect ACT's published national ranks for the current reporting year, based on recent graduating classes. Verify current tables at act.org, and always check each college's own published score range before setting a target.