ACT to SAT conversion
The official 2018 concordance in the ACT to SAT direction, including the SAT range ACT publishes for each composite point.
590 to 1600, the range the concordance covers
Concorded ACT composite
·
Read this as an approximation. ACT publishes standard errors of plus or minus 2 ACT points and plus or minus 80 SAT points on this table. It is also the 2018 concordance, which mapped the retired four-section ACT against the pre-digital paper SAT. ACT states it can continue to be used, but no updated version exists.
Source: 2018 ACT/SAT Concordance Tables, published jointly by ACT and College Board. Retrieved 2026-08-27.
Common conversions
| ACT composite | SAT total | Published SAT range |
|---|---|---|
| 36 | 1590 | 1570-1600 |
| 34 | 1500 | 1490-1520 |
| 32 | 1430 | 1420-1440 |
| 30 | 1370 | 1360-1380 |
| 28 | 1310 | 1300-1320 |
| 26 | 1240 | 1230-1250 |
| 24 | 1180 | 1160-1190 |
| 22 | 1110 | 1100-1120 |
| 20 | 1040 | 1030-1050 |
| 18 | 970 | 960-980 |
The middle column is the value ACT designates for when a single point comparison is needed. The right column is the fuller answer, and it is the one worth quoting, because one ACT point genuinely does cover a span of SAT scores.
Where the table came from
ACT and College Board built the 2018 concordance jointly, from students who sat both tests. It is a statistical mapping between distributions, not a conversion formula, and ACT attaches standard errors of plus or minus 2 ACT points and plus or minus 80 SAT points.
It also predates both current tests. The ACT composite it concords included science, which the enhanced ACT composite no longer does, and the SAT side was the paper test that ran to 2023. ACT publishes a companion table showing the old and new ACT composites line up closely, which is what keeps this usable. ACT's position is that the 2018 concordance can continue to be used, and no replacement has been produced.
Which score to actually submit
If one test genuinely suits you better, its score will usually be the stronger application item regardless of what the concordance says. And a growing number of universities have reinstated a testing requirement for the current cycle, which is worth checking per college.
For the other direction see SAT to ACT conversion, and to score an ACT practice test from raw answers use the ACT score calculator.
Read next
- SAT or ACT, how to choose in 2026 Digital adaptive SAT versus enhanced ACT: timing, content, scoring and superscore differences that actually decide it.
- The enhanced ACT, everything that changed Shorter sections, optional science, and a three-section composite: the 2025 ACT changes in detail.
- SAT superscoring explained How superscores are built, who decides, and how to confirm one college's policy.
Common questions
- What SAT score equals a 30 on the ACT?
- The 2018 concordance puts ACT 30 at SAT 1370, within a published range of 1360-1380. ACT also publishes a standard error of plus or minus 80 SAT points.
- Why does ACT publish a range as well as a single score?
- Because a single ACT composite point covers a span of SAT scores. The single value is the one ACT designates for when a one-to-one comparison is needed; the range is the fuller answer.
- Is this concordance still valid?
- It is the only official one, and ACT states it can continue to be used. It concords the retired four-section ACT against the pre-digital paper SAT, so it should be read as an approximation rather than an exchange rate.
- Do colleges use this table?
- Many do use concordance when comparing applicants who submitted different tests, but each institution decides how. Submitting the score that genuinely represents you better is more useful than optimising against a conversion table.
Last updated