Research · Test scores · October 2026

An ACT 30 equals an SAT 1370 on the official ACT to SAT conversion table

As of October 2026: An ACT composite of 30 converts to an SAT total of 1370, an ACT 25 to an SAT 1210, and an ACT 20 to an SAT 1040. Those matches come from the 2018 ACT/SAT concordance table, which ACT and the College Board published together and both still point to, and which covers every ACT composite from 36 down to 9.

The table below holds all 28 published rows: each ACT composite, the single SAT total beside it, and the SAT range the two organizations print with it. It does not predict how a student would score on the other test.

Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com), October 2026. Figures and the table may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.

The findings, in plain English

Each ACT score maps to one SAT total and a band around it. An ACT 30 sits at an SAT 1370, inside a published range of 1360 to 1380. An ACT 24 sits at 1180, inside 1160 to 1190. An ACT 17 sits at 930, inside 920 to 950. The single number is the one to quote. The range shows how much room the match carries.

The digital SAT did not change the conversion. College Board's own study reports a straight-line concordance between its paper and digital tests. A digital score therefore means the same thing on the same scale. No separate digital table was ever issued. The score-comparison page College Board keeps for colleges still lists the 2018 tables and nothing newer.

The official table stops at an ACT 9. The ACT composite runs from 1 to 36. The SAT total runs from 400 to 1600. But the concordance prints a single-point match only from 36 down to 9. There is no official SAT value for an ACT 8 or lower. A conversion you find online for those scores is somebody's estimate.

The official ACT composite to SAT total conversion, all 28 rows

Read down to your student's ACT composite, then across to the SAT total and the range beside it.

ACT compositeSAT totalSAT range, lowSAT range, high
36 1,590 1,570 1,600
35 1,540 1,530 1,560
34 1,500 1,490 1,520
33 1,460 1,450 1,480
32 1,430 1,420 1,440
31 1,400 1,390 1,410
30 1,370 1,360 1,380
29 1,340 1,330 1,350
28 1,310 1,300 1,320
27 1,280 1,260 1,290
26 1,240 1,230 1,250
25 1,210 1,200 1,220
24 1,180 1,160 1,190
23 1,140 1,130 1,150
22 1,110 1,100 1,120
21 1,080 1,060 1,090
20 1,040 1,030 1,050
19 1,010 990 1,020
18 970 960 980
17 930 920 950
16 890 880 910
15 850 830 870
14 800 780 820
13 760 730 770
12 710 690 720
11 670 650 680
10 630 620 640
9 590 590 610

Table A2 of the 2018 ACT/SAT Concordance Tables, ACT composite to SAT total, in the document's own order. These are concorded scores for students who took both tests at about the same time, not scores any one student earned. ACT composites of 8 and below are excluded because the table publishes no value for them. The same tables still apply to the digital SAT.

How to read the table

Find the ACT composite in the first column. The SAT total beside it is the score that holds the same rank among students who took both tests at about the same time. That is all a concordance claims. It is a rank match between two groups, not a forecast for one student.

The range in the last two columns matters when a score sits near a cutoff. An ACT 27 matches an SAT 1280, with a range of 1260 to 1290. A college that prints 1290 as the bottom of its middle range is asking for a little more than that single-point match, even though the top of the ACT 27 range reaches it. College Board tells colleges to use the table to compare scores. In the same breath it tells them not to decide on a concorded score alone.

The section tables are separate

The 28 rows here are the composite table. ACT and the College Board also publish section tables in the same document. One matches SAT Math, on a 200 to 800 scale, against ACT Math on the 1 to 36 scale. The other matches SAT Reading and Writing against ACT English and Reading added together, on a combined 2 to 72 scale.

So an ACT English score by itself has no SAT partner. It has to be paired with the Reading score first. That is why a section comparison takes more care than a composite comparison, and why most colleges work from the composite.

What a family should do with this

Convert once, then stop. Take the student's best ACT composite, read its SAT total off the table, and use that number against the score ranges each college publishes. A student who tested well on the ACT does not need to sit the SAT to have a comparable number.

Two cautions. Do not treat the converted score as a score the student earned on the other test, because the table is a rank match and nothing more. And when a student is still choosing between the two tests, a timed practice test of each says more than any conversion.

Questions parents ask

What SAT score is equal to an ACT 30?

An ACT 30 sits at an SAT 1370, inside a published range of 1360 to 1380.

Is there a new conversion table for the digital SAT?

No separate digital table was ever issued.

Why is there no conversion for a very low ACT score?

There is no official SAT value for an ACT 8 or lower.

Method & sources: The source is the 2018 ACT/SAT Concordance Tables, published jointly by ACT and the College Board and still the current tables both organizations point to in 2026. The rows here are Table A2, ACT composite to SAT total, in the document's own order from 36 down to 9. ACT composites of 8 and below are excluded because the table publishes no single-point SAT value or range for them. The tables relate the scores of students who took both tests at about the same time, so they are a rank match rather than a prediction.

This brief as data: /research/act-to-sat-conversion.json. Free for editorial use with attribution to Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach).

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