How to Improve Your ACT Score By 10 Points
Contents
- 10 Tips for How to Improve Your ACT Score by 10 Points
- 1. Start Studying Early
- 2. Use Your Old Score Report for Guidance
- 3. Create a Study Plan
- 4. Focus on Improving Your Time Management
- 5. Memorize Essential Rules and Formulas
- 6. Improve Your Reading Speed
- 7. Invest in ACT Test Prep Materials
- 8. Practice, Practice, Practice
- 9. Find Ways to Tackle Your Nerves
- 10. Follow a Strict Game Plan Before Your Next Test
- The Final Word on How to Improve Your ACT Score
- Sources
If you need to take the ACT for college or university admissions, you want a great score that puts you in the top percentile. Not happy with your ACT score? Find out how to improve your ACT score by 10 points with these tips, tools, and tricks.
The ACT is a curriculum-based college entrance exam that many colleges use in admissions. If you need it for college, you want the best score possible.
Have you already taken the ACT or an ACT practice test and aren’t happy with your score? Don’t stress. It’s possible to improve with time, effort and preparation.
Be realistic, though. A 10-point Composite gain is a very large jump, most within reach for students starting from a low score. This guide explains how to make the biggest gain you can.
10 Tips for How to Improve Your ACT Score by 10 Points
The ACT covers English, math and reading, plus optional science and writing sections. Each multiple-choice section is scored from 1 to 36.
Your Composite, also 1 to 36, is the average of your English, math and reading scores. Science is reported separately.
Your score report also shows percentile ranks, which compare you with other recent test-takers. Percentiles shift a little from year to year. For example, a 36 Composite has ranked in the 99th percentile, meaning you scored better than about 99% of test-takers.
The better you score, the higher your percentile, and the stronger your application. Read on to find out how to boost your score.
1. Start Studying Early
Don’t save ACT studying for the last minute. You want plenty of time to master this test's format, content and pacing, which differ from the usual school exam.
The stakes can add stress, and being well prepared helps keep that anxiety in check. As soon as you know your next test date, start studying.
2. Use Your Old Score Report for Guidance
If you aren’t happy with your last ACT result, you might want to throw it in the garbage. Stop! Your score report contains valuable information that can help you do better on your next test. Make sure you understandhow to read your score report and hang on to it.
Check the detailed results on your score report and find your lowest-scoring sections. That tells you where to focus.
Remember how the math works. Because the Composite averages English, math and reading, raising one of those sections by 6 points lifts your Composite by only about 2. Science gains don't change the Composite at all, though they raise your STEM score.
So a 10-point Composite gain needs about 30 extra section points spread across English, math and reading. Focus on the sections with the most room to grow.
3. Create a Study Plan
In general, it's best to leave yourself at least six weeks between ACTs. Rushing a retake rarely brings a big improvement.
Once you have your next ACT date booked, map out a study plan. Depending on how well you score in each subsection, accommodate a suitable amount of time to study and improve.
For example, if you want to focus on math and reading and have seven weeks to prepare, you might spend three weeks on each and save the last week for full practice tests. That keeps you from rushing right before the test.
4. Focus on Improving Your Time Management
The ACT is a timed test, and finishing each section on time is one of the hardest parts. Make time management part of your prep.
Keep a stopwatch by your side whenever you complete a practice test (or use your phone as a timer). You can check your time regularly to see how well you’re doing in terms of keeping up.
Further, you can start practicing skills that will help you improve your time management on the actual test day. For example, it’s often best to skip tough questions that will take up loads of time. You can always come back to them later. Being able to identify time-wasters is critical.
5. Memorize Essential Rules and Formulas
Working faster also means knowing your tools. The ACT doesn't give you a formula sheet, so for the math section it helps to memorize specific basic formulas.
Then you can jump straight into problem-solving. Useful formulas include the area of a triangle, slope-intercept form, the quadratic formula and the basic trigonometry ratios.
6. Improve Your Reading Speed
Even if your reading score was acceptable, faster reading helps on every section. You have to read and understand every question to answer it correctly.
Slow reading can leave you behind time-wise in any section, be it math or science. There are many ways you can improve your reading, such as learning how to scan a text.This YouTube video provides some great tips on improving your reading speed.
7. Invest in ACT Test Prep Materials
Start with ACT's free official practice tests. If you want more, you can buy books, extra practice tests and guided courses.
Many of these materials are readily available on Amazon. The ACT got shorter in 2025, with fewer questions per section and optional science, so buy a recent guide that reflects the current format.
If you aren’t making the progress you want with ACT prep materials alone, you might also consider getting a tutor. A professional can structure your ACT study plan and guide you through lessons. They can also provide valuable moral support.
8. Practice, Practice, Practice
Don’t just take one practice test before your next ACT. Take as many as you can! Practice tests allow you to hone your new skills and get more comfortable with the general test format. You can also learn new strategies, like figuring out when to skip a question.
After every test, review your total score and your section subscores. Take the time to look at questions that confused you to pinpoint what the issue was. For example, was there a formula you could have known that would have helped? Learning it now may help you in the future.
9. Find Ways to Tackle Your Nerves
After all that preparation, you don’t want to end up doing poorly on your ACT because nerves got to you. This is a high-pressure situation, so it’s understandable to be anxious. However, it’s up to you to figure out how to manage that anxiety to not interfere with your test.
There are manyways to help minimize test anxiety, from self-encouragement to showing up to the testing site early. You can also try on-the-spot exercises to soothe yourself, such as deep breathing or meditation. Take a moment to calm your mind before you start.
10. Follow a Strict Game Plan Before Your Next Test
The night before your ACT, try to relax. Eat a healthy dinner, clear your schedule, and set yourself an early bedtime. You want to be well-rested and alert on test day. If you have trouble falling asleep due to nerves, try taking a warm bath or listening to some relaxing music.
Set out all the supplies you’ll need for the ACT the night before, such as pencils or calculators. You can also save time by setting out the clothes you’re going to wear on test day. This will save you stress and hassle the following day, ensuring you have no distractions.
**Finally, eat a healthy breakfast before you head to the test.**You may not be hungry if you’re feeling nervous, but you will need food for energy and keep you focused. When you’re trying to improve your ACT score, the last thing you want is to be distracted by a rumbling stomach.
The Final Word on How to Improve Your ACT Score
Your ACT score won't improve overnight. Identify your problem areas, follow a study plan and practice under timed conditions, and you can raise your score.
