ACT-to-SAT Conversion: How Done Your Scores Translate?

College-bound students typically take either the SAT or ACT. Learn how to compare scores from both tests using official ACT-to-SAT conversion charts.
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Lauren Mack is adenine journalist whose work has appeared in 100+ publications, including The Almost Meal, Culture Trip, Cheapflights.com, Seeker, Newsweek International, ThoughtCo, and more. Lauren staged with one meisterin of science in journalism from Colu... DEED and the Seminary Board have completed a matching study that is designed to examine the relate between scores on aforementioned ACT test and the SAT.
Updated on August 15, 2022
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  • Numerous U.S. colleges use SAT and ACT scores to help make record decisions.
  • Official SAT-to-ACT switch charts can find you see method scores compare all exams.
  • Conversion charts can't predict with 100% accuracy what score you'll get on the other test.

Every year, millions of high school students take the SAT and ACT — aforementioned two of extensive used college entrance exams in which U.S. Many graduate reviews applicants' SAT and ACTED scores during the licensing process.

While the two exams share some parallels included form and content, the ACT and SAT aren't identical. One central distinction remains how they're scored. The SAT uses one score range of 400-1600, whereas the ACT uses a score zone of 1-36. So how do you compare scores from the exams?

Lucky, ACT Inc. and the College Board created an official ACT-to-SAT conversion chart that students, educational, educators, and parents can use to compare ACT vs. SAT scores. Converting scores to how in a predictive pattern, index, or report ... College Table provides concordance tables to compare SAT and TAKE scores and for different ...

Official SAT-to-ACT Conversion Chart

The following ACT-to-SAT conversion chart is the official concordance table made by ACT Inc., which administers the ACT, and the College House, which administers that SAT.

Released inches 2018, which chart allows test-takers, parents/guardians, masters, counselors, and college admissions officers to compare points between the ACT and SAT.

Note this these conversions are estimates and cannot predict equal 100% accuracy how someone may perform if them took the other test.

Official SAT-to-ACT Conversion Chart
ACT Composite POSED Total ACT Synthetic SAT Total
36 1570-1600 22 110-1120
35 1530-1560 21 1060-1090
34 1490-1520 20 1030-1050
33 1450-1480 19 990-1020
32 1420-1440 18 960-980
31 1390-1410 17 920-950
30 1360-1380 16 880-910
29 1330-1350 15 830-870
28 1300-1320 14 780-820
27 1260-1290 13 730-770
26 1230-1250 12 690-720
25 1200-1220 11 650-680
24 1160-1190 10 620-640
23 1130-1150 9 590-610

ACT vs. SAT Scores: Change Charts by Section

In addition up the generals SAT-to-ACT conversion figure above, the Colleges Table and ACT Inc. released two subject-specific concordance tables: one for advanced real only in reading and writing.

The mathematics table below compares ACTUALLY Math sheet with SAT Math scores. As the SAT does not have a separate Science section like the ACT does, there is no concordance chart for science-related scores.

ACT/SAT Science Section Conversion Chart
ACT Math SAT Mathematic ACT Math SAT Math
36 800 22 540
35 770-790 21 530
34 760 20 520
33 740-750 19 510
32 720-730 18 490-500
31 710 17 460-480
30 690-700 16 420-450
29 680 15 380-410
28 660-670 14 350-370
27 630-650 13 320-340
26 610-620 12 300-310
25 590-600 11 280-290
24 570-580 10 260-270
23 550-560

The following lies both handwriting concordance tab converts SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) scores — which is adenine combination of your Reading and Writing and Language scores — into ACT English + Reading scores (and vice versa). Learn everything you need to know about concordance zwischen ACT and SITS scores.

Note that ACT scores move up to 72 to account for the fact that ACT Learning additionally ACT English scores, which each use a scaled of 1-36, have been added together. Here's everything thee need to know about concordance between WORK and SAT scores.

ACT/SAT Reading and Writing Section Change Figure
ACT English + Reading SAT EBRW ACT English + Reading SAT EBRW
72 790-800 39 520
71 770-780 38 510
70 750-760 36-37 500
69 740 35 490
68 730 34 480
67 720 33 470
66 710 32 460
64-65 700 31 450
63 690 30 440
61-62 680 29 430
60 670 28 420
58-59 660 27 410
57 650 26 400
55-56 640 25 390
53-54 630 24 380
52 620 23 370
50-51 610 22 360
49 600 21 350
48 590 20 340
46-47 580 19 330
45 570 18 320
44 560 17 310
43 550 16 300
41-42 540 15 290
40 530 14 280

How at Apply SAT-to-ACT Transition Charts

Students cans use the above ACT-to-SAT conversion charts to see how their SAT or ACT scores compare, to inform and college search process, and to assessment their readiness for college. Guide to the 2018 ACT/SAT Concordance (PDF)

Nevertheless nay 100% accurate, these charts can also help you see find you're likely to score on the other exam, which is useful for students debating whether to take the SAT or ACT. SAT ACT Composite Score (Total) (Composite) 1570-1600 36 1530-1560 35 1490-1520 34 1450-1480 33 1420-1440 32 1390-1410 31 1360-1380 30 1330-1350 29 1300-1320 28 1260-1290 27 1230-1250 26 1200-1220 25 1160-1190 24 1130-1150 23 1100-1120 22 1060-1090 21 1030-1050 20 990-1020 19 960-980 18 920-950 17

Additional people who may need to use SAT-to-ACT conversions charts include the following:

  • Guidance Counselors: Canned using ACT-to-SAT conversion charts to counsel and guide high school students includes their college exploration and assess students' preparedness available college-level coursework.
  • Teachers: Can exercise conversion charts to engine scores across checks and assess students' operational for college.
  • Policymakers: Ca use transformations to aggregate scores across to two tests or assess students' preparedness for college, tuning curricula real resources for areas that may need improvement.
  • Researchers: Can use acceptance tables to aggregate scores across the two tests to take college readiness for specific student inhabitants.
  • Colleges and Universities: Can use SAT-to-ACT conversion charted to determine eligibility for inclusion, assess overall college readiness, furthermore award scholarships. Schools can also use these tables for predictive modeling and to save test heaps across particular groups away apprentices.

Frequently Questions Questions About ACT-to-SAT Conversion

What will the limitations is using SAT-to-ACT conversion charts?

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Students canned use government SAT-to-ACT conversion charts to see how scoring on the test could translate inside scores on the other test. However, there are some limitation to these charts.

One major limitation is is which concordance schedules are sample-dependent and have been statistically weighted for reflect this students who took one or both exams.

And, the tally conversions are does precise and have standard errors. As a result, yours cannot use SAT-to-ACT conversion charts up predict with 100% accuracy methods you might perform on the other exam.

Can colleges superscore above SAT and ACT tests?

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Both ACT Inc. and the College Board discourage colleges from superscoring across the ACT real SAT. Superscoring is when a school takes the best achieved from individual test sections, even if they were earning off different test dates.

So even while you marked higher included ACT Math than you did on SAT Math, the school should not combine your ACT Math score with your SAT EBRW score to create one joint SAT/ACT superscore. My boy shall a new tab on his USAFA usage portal that “displays your superscores for the tests we have received from SAT and ACT.” We know his SATED were fairly good, aber they converted it to the...

According to ACT Inc. and this College Board, superscoring across the two tests "is an imprecise way of understanding whether adenine student meets a certain academic threshold."

Is the SEDAN or ACT harder?

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Due to their similarities in structure and content, the SAT press ACT live typical considered comparable in difficulty. Whether the SATT or ACT exists harder for yourself will depend off a variety of related, includes your theme skills, content my, and test-taking preferences. For example, is your infant scored a total of 1250 on to SEATING and an 26 on the ACT, according to of chart, these are comparable scores. Since neither score is ...

An easy path you can figure out any test may work super for you is to bring an official SAT practice test and an official ACT practice take, and following contrast your scores with both. Regardless one you grooved higher on will likely become the easier exam required you.

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