Does Retaking the ACT Improve Your Score? Data & Tips

Does Retaking the ACT Improve Your Score? Data & Tips

Does retaking the ACT improve your score? Often, a retake helps on at least one section, but the typical national Composite increase is modest. The more useful question is whether a higher score could help you reach a specific scholarship, admission, readiness, or placement goal.

That distinction matters for students, families, and counselors deciding whether another test date is worth the time and cost. ACT data show score movement among repeat testers, while state programs show how a few additional points can affect eligibility in certain places. The same data also leave important questions unanswered about why scores rise and whether retaking alone caused the improvement.

How much can you improve your ACT score by retaking it?

A Composite score combines the ACT section scores into one overall result. A Superscore combines a student’s best section scores from multiple test dates. Those measures answer different questions, so their reported gains should not be compared as though they were the same score.

In data released today, ACT reported that 1 in 3 students in its 1.46 million-student graduating cohort took the ACT more than once. Those repeat testers increased their average Composite score by 1.1 points between their first and latest attempts (ACT Newsroom).

A separate ACT analysis released about a year ago found that students who took the test more than once increased their average Superscore by 2.4 points (ACT Newsroom). That larger figure does not mean students should expect a 2.4-point Composite gain. Superscoring gives a student credit for the strongest result in each section, while a Composite score reflects the combined result from a test attempt.

State retesting results offer a closer look at the range of outcomes. In Tennessee’s fall 2025 senior retest, ACT reported that 88% of retesters improved at least one section score. However, only 39% improved their Composite, with those students gaining an average of 2 points (ACT Industry Insights).

Wyoming showed a similar gap between section improvement and Composite improvement. ACT reported that 92% of retesters improved at least one section, while 46% improved their Composite by an average of 2.1 points (ACT Industry Insights).

These figures do not establish that most students nationally improve after retesting. They do show that improvement on one section is more common than an overall Composite increase in the two reported state programs. For a student deciding whether to retake, that is a useful expectation to set: progress may appear in English, math, reading, or science without changing the Composite as much.

What score change should you look for?

The first step is to identify the score that would change something for you. A retake has a clearer purpose when the target is specific, such as a scholarship cutoff, an admissions range, or a college readiness benchmark.

ACT Benchmarks are subject-specific scores associated with readiness for credit-bearing college coursework. They can help students interpret progress beyond the Composite, but they are not automatic college placement decisions. Colleges establish their own policies, so a benchmark result should be treated as a readiness indicator to discuss with a counselor or college, not as a guaranteed course placement.

ACT’s national 2026 analysis found that the share of repeat testers meeting all three ACT Benchmarks rose by 7 percentage points from the first attempt to the latest attempt (ACT Newsroom). An ACT analysis published nearly a year ago reported a different comparison within its repeat-tester data: 30% met at least three benchmarks on the first attempt, compared with 53% on a repeat attempt (ACT Industry Insights).

Those percentages should not be treated as interchangeable. The reports may involve different groups or methods of summarizing results. Together, though, they point to a practical use for the score report: check which subjects moved closer to a benchmark, rather than looking only at the Composite.

The school-day retesting data also show subject-level movement. ACT said the number of retested students reaching the relevant benchmark increased by 17% in English, 24% in math, and 23% in reading and science compared with initial attempts (ACT Industry Insights). Because the source describes these as increases in the number of students reaching a benchmark, readers should not automatically interpret them as percentage-point gains.

Mississippi presents another example of why the underlying calculation matters. ACT reported that the percentage of students meeting all three benchmarks more than doubled between first and latest attempts. The same release said each of the state’s two statewide retesting programs increased its totals by 4 to 6 percentage points (ACT Newsroom). Those statements appear to summarize different measures or program groupings. They should not be used to predict an individual student’s result without reviewing the student’s own score report and the state program details.

When a small ACT retake score improvement can matter

A 1.1-point average national Composite increase may sound small. It can still matter when a student is close to a threshold.

Tennessee offers a clear example. The state has provided senior retesting since 2017. In the fall 2025 opportunity, more than 52,000 seniors participated, representing more than 70% of the senior class. ACT reported that 3,678 additional students qualified for the HOPE Scholarship by reaching a score of 21 or higher, a 17% increase over spring results (ACT Industry Insights).

ACT also said those students gained access to more than $75 million in potential scholarship funding (ACT Industry Insights). “Potential” matters here. Reaching the score threshold may establish eligibility, but it does not mean every student receives the full amount or that the same rule applies outside Tennessee.

Wyoming offers a different example. ACT reported that 550 students reached higher math and English placement levels after the senior retest, with estimated combined savings of more than $200,000 for students and families (ACT Industry Insights). The report describes avoided remediation and estimated savings, but students elsewhere should not assume that a higher ACT score will produce the same result. Placement rules belong to the individual college or system.

An independent study adds context without proving that every score increase produces the same outcome. Using data from more than 3 million test takers, a Journal of Human Resources analysis estimated that randomly receiving one additional ACT point was associated with a 0.44-percentage-point increase in the probability of attending a four-year college (Journal of Human Resources).

The word “randomly” is central to that finding. It describes the study’s estimate, not a guarantee that any student who raises a score by one point will attend a four-year college. Still, the result helps explain why a small increase can have practical value near a cutoff.

Should I retake the ACT? Check the decision, not just the score

A student should consider retesting when at least one of these conditions applies:

• A specific threshold is within reach. Check the exact score required for a scholarship, admission policy, or placement decision. A target of 21 in Tennessee, for example, is not a universal ACT rule.
• A free or no-cost school-day opportunity is available. Tennessee’s statewide program included a retest at no cost to students, and ACT identifies Tennessee and Wyoming as states with statewide retesting programs (ACT Newsroom; ACT Newsroom).
• A section score, rather than the Composite, is the main concern. A retake may be useful when math, English, reading, or science is close to a benchmark or another stated requirement.
• The target college accepts the score format that helps you. Colleges set their own score-reporting policies. Verify whether each target school considers a Superscore, a single Composite, or another combination of scores.
• There is enough time to prepare. Review the missed question types, use available school support, and confirm that the test date falls before the relevant application or scholarship deadline.
• The student has the support needed to test effectively. Ask about tutoring, review sessions, practice tests, registration requirements, and approved accommodations well before the test date.

Retesting may be less useful when the current score already meets the relevant requirement, the deadline is close, or preparation time is too limited to address a clear weakness. A second test date by itself is not a study plan. The decision should connect the test to a goal that can be checked.

What the data cannot prove about retaking

Most of the retesting statistics above come from ACT or ACT Industry Insights, which is produced by the test provider. That makes the data useful for describing reported score changes, state participation, and program outcomes, but it also means the findings should not be presented as independent proof that retesting causes improvement.

The available data do not fully separate the effect of another test attempt from other changes. Students may gain more classroom experience, become more familiar with the test, prepare independently, or take part in school support between attempts. The reported Tennessee and Wyoming results show what happened among retesters, not which factor produced each gain.

Research discussed by Brookings raises a related issue about test preparation. Observational studies found that students using ACT Online Prep increased their Composite scores by about 1 point, while intensive users saw average gains of 1.5 points. Brookings cautioned that these studies were not experimental, so students who chose to prepare may have differed from students who did not (Brookings).

An ACT-sponsored randomized controlled trial, also discussed by Brookings, found no overall score difference between students given free access to ACT Online Prep and those in a control group. More than half never used the program, and students who used it spent an average of 2.1 hours studying (Brookings). That study concerns access to test preparation, not the causal effect of retaking the ACT itself. It does not show that preparation never helps, but it does caution against promising a particular score increase from simply receiving access to a resource.

A practical retake decision

The answer to “does retaking the ACT improve your score” is yes for some students and some sections, but the size and value of the improvement vary. Nationally, ACT reported a 1.1-point average Composite increase among repeat testers, while the earlier Superscore analysis reported a 2.4-point average increase using a different measure (ACT Newsroom; ACT Newsroom).

Before registering, take three steps. First, write down the exact score or benchmark that would change the student’s options. Second, verify the applicable policy with the state program, school counselor, college, or scholarship provider. Third, compare the deadline and available preparation time with the likely value of another attempt.

That process turns “should I retake the ACT?” into a more answerable question. A retake is most defensible when a reachable score could affect a real decision, a valid testing opportunity is available, and the student has time to prepare for the sections that need attention.