When the three-section superscore took effect

ACT defines a superscore as “the average of a student's highest score on the English, math, and reading sections across all the ACT tests the student has taken.” Science is not part of that average.

This claim needs one limit. The three-section formula does not guarantee a higher superscore. Your best English, Math and Reading scores still control the result.

The timing caused confusion during the changeover. ACT first used the three-section method for certain enhanced tests in April 2025. It says the method “goes into effect for all students who take an ACT test in or after September 2025.”

You do not have to ask for it. ACT says a superscore appears once scoring finishes on your second test, with no extra request, and that it builds one automatically for students who have tested more than once since September 2016. Sending it to a college is a separate decision you make.

Mixing legacy and enhanced sittings

ACT's definition says the superscore uses the highest English, Math and Reading scores across all ACT tests the student has taken. That is the broad rule.

This is the part people assume is murky, and it is not. ACT states that the highest section scores may come from any test event, legacy or enhanced, and gives a worked example combining English and Math from legacy sittings with Reading from an enhanced one.

So a score you earned before the change is not stranded. It competes for its section on equal terms with anything you score afterwards.

That silence matters. A student should not plan around an assumed automatic switch. Check the superscore shown in the ACT account and on the actual score report. Contact ACT when the report does not make the treatment of an older sitting clear.

The one thing to check yourself is the college, not the mechanics. ACT builds the superscore; whether a given college uses it, and whether it wants all your section scores alongside it, is that college's policy.

Earlier test-date Composite scores do not change

ACT does not go back and recalculate the Composite score from an older test date. A legacy Composite that included Science stays as originally reported. The current superscore is a separate calculation across test dates.

That distinction matters because two numbers can follow different formulas. An older single-sitting Composite may average English, Math, Reading and Science. A current Superscore Composite averages the highest English, Math and Reading results used on the report.

Consider a simple example. All scores use ACT's 1 to 36 scale.

A student once earned English 30 of 36, Math 30 of 36, Reading 30 of 36 and Science 36 of 36. Under the older formula, the total is 126 points across 4 sections. Dividing 126 by 4 gives 31.5, which rounds to a Composite of 32 of 36.

Now assume the student's current superscore report shows English 30 of 36, Math 30 of 36 and Reading 30 of 36 as the three section scores used in the calculation. The total is 90 points across 3 sections. Dividing 90 by 3 gives a Superscore Composite of 30 of 36.

The current superscore is lower in this example because Science was the student's strongest section. The old test-date Composite of 32 of 36 still exists. The new formula does not erase it.

Science stays on the report in a different role

Leaving Science out of the Superscore Composite does not make every Science score disappear. ACT says a superscore report can still display the highest Science score. If the student took Science, the report can also show a STEM score, which combines Math and Science.

Science therefore has two separate questions attached to it. Does it affect the Superscore Composite? No. Could it still appear on the score report and matter under a school or program policy? Yes.

This is where a simple slogan can mislead. “Science does not count” is too broad. It does not count in the current ACT Superscore Composite. It can still produce a Science section score and a STEM score.

Skipping Science may be reasonable for one student and unwise for another. The superscore formula alone cannot settle that choice. A student should first check every college and program that may receive the score.

ACT reporting and college use are separate decisions

ACT can calculate and send a superscore. A college still decides how it will evaluate that report. ACT tells students to check each school's published testing policy.

When ACT sends a superscore, the college receives data from the test attempts that supplied the superscore sections. The college may use the Superscore Composite, review a full test date, or apply another published rule. ACT's calculation does not override that rule.

Do not assume that the word “superscore” means the same thing at every school. Check whether the school accepts an ACT superscore. Then check whether Science is required, recommended, or ignored under the policy that applies to you.

The policy may also differ by program. A general admissions page may not answer a question for a special academic program or scholarship. Use the most specific official page you can find. Ask the admissions office when the written policy leaves a real gap.

Build the testing plan from the policies

Start by listing the colleges and programs you may apply to. Record three facts from each official policy: whether it accepts ACT superscores, whether it requires Science, and the last test date it will consider.

Next, compare your existing section scores. Mark your best English, Math and Reading results. Those are the three sections in ACT's current superscore definition. But do not assume the public pages explain exactly how a pre-enhancement sitting will appear in the calculation. Check the superscore ACT actually reports.

Then calculate the three-section view of your record. Add the 3 English, Math and Reading scores shown for the superscore and divide by 3. ACT rounds that average to the nearest whole number. Keep each older single-sitting Composite as reported.

Finally, choose the next sitting for a specific reason. You may need a stronger required section, a Science score for a published policy, or a test date before an application deadline. Do not take Science merely because it used to be part of the Composite. Do not skip it merely because ACT removed it from the superscore formula.