What a 26 ACT score means on the SAT scale
On the concordance table published jointly by ACT and College Board, an ACT composite of 26 corresponds to an SAT total of 1240. Because one ACT point spans several SAT points, the table also gives a range, 1230–1250, and colleges treat any SAT score in that range as equivalent to a 26. An SAT 1240 is good: the 79th percentile of SAT takers, or the top 21%. ACT publishes its own percentile tables for the composite, which differ slightly because the two tests are taken by different groups of students.
Which colleges a 26 fits
Admissions readers compare test scores with the middle-50% range of admitted students, published for both tests in each college’s Common Data Set. An SAT-equivalent of 1240 is competitive at the majority of four-year colleges and inside the range at many large public universities. The per-score page is 1240 a good SAT score gives the full picture, including section splits and how to move it, and the good-score guide lists sample college ranges.
One ACT point in SAT terms
Moving from a 26 to a 27 is worth about 40 SAT points (1280), and a 25 concords to 1210. Near the top of both scales each ACT point covers a wider SAT range, which is why a 34 and a 35 look similar to a college that reads scores in SAT terms while a 20 and a 21 sit only about 40 SAT points apart.
ACT Math 26 to SAT Math
The concordance also maps the Math sections directly. An ACT Math score of 26 corresponds to an SAT Math section score of about 610 out of 800. Programs with a Math minimum, common in engineering and business schools, use this section-level table rather than the composite. The Math SAT score calculator shows how many correct answers that takes on the Digital SAT.
Nearby ACT scores
Last updated September 2026. Source: ACT/College Board 2018 concordance tables (composite and Math); SAT percentiles from College Board’s current SAT User tables.