Your Official ACT to SAT Score Conversion Chart

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In this post, we’ll discuss the two primary standardized tests taken by college applicants: the SAT and the ACT. We’ll discuss how each is scored, the scoring scales, and how you can perform an SAT-to-ACT conversion, as well as an ACT-to-SAT conversion.

How Is the SAT Scored?

Up until 2016, the SAT had three sections, with each being worth up to 800 points. On that test, students received a score between 200-800 on every section and could achieve a composite score between 600-2400, calculated simply be adding up their section score totals.

Now, the SAT is back to two sections, each worth up to 800 points. There is an optional third section that is composed of an essay, but it is scored on a separate scale and not included in the composite score. On the most recent version of the SAT, students can achieve a composite score from 400-1600. This can get a little confusing when comparing scores. For example, if your older sibling scored a 1900 on their SAT, your recent score of 1480 may actually be more impressive, since it represents a higher achievement on a smaller scale.

In any case, your final SAT section scores and composite scores are calculated through an equating process in which raw score data is converted to the 800-point scale. The exact process for this involves scanning your answer sheet to count the number of correct answers. This is your raw score, but you’ll never see it. Your raw score then undergoes an equating process to account for the specific difficulty of each version of the test. Equating results in your final section scores on the 800-point scale.

Scaled scores make it possible for you to compare scores from different versions of the SAT, but it remains challenging to compare SAT vs. ACT scores, where the scoring scale differs significantly.

How Is the ACT Scored?

The scoring scale for the ACT is 1-36, and this is true regardless of whether you’re talking about a specific section or your composite score. Each section is graded individually from 1-36, and your scores on each section are then averaged to find your composite score. Fractions more than or equal to one half are rounded up to the nearest whole number, while fractions under one half are rounded down to the nearest whole number.

The process for scoring an ACT is both careful and complex. It is similar to that of scoring the SAT in that neither is scored on a student-based curve, but both account for the slightly varying difficulty of different versions of the tests. The ACT does actually refer to this process as a curve, but it is not the kind of student-based curve most people are accustomed to hearing about. Instead of being based on the performance of your peers, this curve is test-specific and designed to correct for slight variations in the difficulty of each test.

This is an important process because multiple tests and test versions are administered each year, and despite all efforts to make the tests exactly the same level of difficulty, this is nearly impossible to accomplish. Instead, each question on the ACT is weighted according to its individual difficulty, and these weights are accounted for through the ACT curving process.

How Can I Convert My SAT Score to an ACT Score, or Convert My ACT Score to an SAT Score?

Converting your raw SAT or ACT score to a section score and composite score is only part of the process when it comes to comparing standardized test scores. These make it simple to compare your SAT score to other SAT scores, or to compare your ACT score to other ACT scores. It still does not allow you to compare SAT scores to ACT scores. To compare your SAT to ACT scores (and vice versa), you must either perform an SAT-to-ACT conversion or an ACT-to-SAT conversion.

To convert your SAT score to the ACT scale, or the other way around, you’ll need to refer to the official concordance charts produced by the CollegeBoard. These tables provide a handy and up-to-date reference for converting your scores. For the sake of simplicity, we’ve copied the charts below. If you’d like to see them in their entirety, be sure to visit the Guide to the 2018 ACT®/SAT® Concordance .

SAT to ACT Conversion:

*An asterisk indicates that you should use this SAT score when a single score point comparison is needed

SAT Score	ACT Score	SAT Percentile	ACT Percentile
1600	36	99+	100
*1590	36	99+	100
1580	36	99+	100
1570	36	99+	100
1560	35	99+	99
1550	35	99+	99
*1540	35	99	99
1530	35	99	99
1520	34	99	99
*1500	34	99	99
1490	34	98	99
1480	34	98	99
1470	33	98	98
*1460	33	97	98
1450	33	97	98
1440	33	96	98
*1430	32	96	97
1420	32	95	97
1410	31	95	95
*1400	31	94	95
1390	31	94	95
1380	30	93	93
*1370	30	92	93
1360	30	92	93
1350	29	91	91
*1340	29	90	91
1330	29	89	91
1320	28	88	89
*1310	28	88	89
1300	28	87	89
1290	27	86	86
*1280	27	84	86
1270	27	83	86
1260	27	82	86
1250	26	81	82
*1240	26	80	82
1230	26	79	82
1220	25	77	78
*1210	25	76	78
1200	25	74	78
1190	24	73	74
*1180	24	72	74
1170	24	70	74
1160	24	68	74
1150	23	67	69
*1140	23	65	69
1130	23	63	69
1120	22	62	63
*1110	22	60	63
1100	22	58	63
1090	21	56	58
*1080	21	54	58
1070	21	52	58
1060	21	51	58
1050	20	49	51
*1040	20	47	51
1030	20	45	51
1020	19	43	45
*1010	19	41	45
1000	19	39	45
990	19	37	45
980	18	36	39
*970	18	34	39
960	18	32	39
950	17	31	32
940	17	29	32
*930	17	27	32
920	17	26	32
910	16	24	26
900	16	23	26
*890	16	21	26
880	16	20	26
870	15	18	20
860	15	17	20
*850	15	15	20
840	15	14	20
830	15	13	20
820	14	12	14
810	14	11	14
*800	14	10	14
790	14	9	14
780	14	8	14
770	13	7	8
*760	13	6	8
750	13	5	8
740	13	4	8
730	13	4	8
720	12	3	4
*710	12	3	4
700	12	2	4
690	12	2	4
680	11	1	1
*670	11	1	1
660	11	1	1
650	11	1	1
640	10	-1	1
*630	10	-1	1
620	10	-1	1
610	9	-1	1
600	9	-1	1

ACT to SAT Conversion

ACT	SAT	SAT Range	ACT Percentile
36	1590	1570-1600	100
35	1540	1530-1560	99
34	1500	1490-1520	99
33	1460	1450-1480	98
32	1430	1420-1440	97
31	1400	1390-1410	95
30	1370	1360-1380	93
29	1340	1330-1350	91
28	1310	1300-1320	89
27	1280	1260-1290	86
26	1240	1230-1250	82
25	1210	1200-1220	78
24	1180	1160-1190	74
23	1140	1130-1150	69
22	1110	1100-1120	63
21	1080	1060-1090	58
20	1040	1030-1050	51
19	1010	990-1020	45
18	970	960-980	39
17	930	920-950	32
16	890	880-910	26
15	850	830-870	20
14	800	780-820	14
13	760	730-770	8
12	710	690-720	4
11	670	650-680	1
10	630	620-640	1
9	590	590-610	1

Note: Concordance tables for the ACT Composite were derived from concordances of the ACT sum score.

Why Knowing Your Converted SAT/ACT Score is Important

You’ll notice numerous similarities comparing the SAT vs. ACT; however, there are also a handful of subtle differences between the two tests. Because of these differences, students generally perform better on one than the other. It’s recommended before committing to taking either the SAT or the ACT that students take practice versions of both tests to see which format favors them—knowing how SAT compared with ACT scores translate offers valuable insight into determining which test is best for you.

Another valuable piece of information obtained from knowing how SAT scores compare to ACT scores is an improved understanding of your overall performance, and how it compares to the applicants you’ll compete against for admission.

If you’re preparing for your SAT or ACT, don’t miss these important preparation tools:

SAT Prep Resources

ACT Prep Resources

Additional SAT & ACT Resources

Preparing for the SAT? Download our free guide with our top 8 tips for mastering the SAT.

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