The ACT Scale Score Ranges
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The ACT® assessment was administered statewide to Wisconsin’s 11th graders for the first time in the 2014-15 school year. Wisconsin has established cut scores to delineate each performance level, such that they are aligned to college and career readiness benchmarks and expectations.
Note: A standard setting panel will be meeting this summer and the 2023-24 cut scores will be made available in late summer.
Wisconsin’s ACT Performance Level Cut Scores
Content Area
|
Basic
|
Proficient
|
Advanced
|
---|---|---|---|
ELA
|
15
|
20
|
28
|
Mathematics
|
17
|
22
|
28
|
Science
|
18
|
23
|
28
|
Wisconsin’s ACT Performance Level Scale Score Ranges
Content Area
|
Below Basic
|
Basic
|
Proficient
|
Advanced
|
---|---|---|---|---|
ELA
|
1-14
|
15-19
|
20-27
|
28-36
|
Mathematics
|
1-16
|
17-21
|
22-27
|
28-36
|
Science
|
1-17
|
18-22
|
23-27
|
28-36
|
Establishing these college ready cut scores is necessary to fulfill important accountability reporting requirements. These cut scores, scale scores, and performance levels are Wisconsin specific; they do not apply to other states or nationally but they do generally mirror the college readiness benchmarks set by ACT. The ACT dashboards in WISEdash also report a College Ready/Not College Ready metric (set by ACT) for English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science.
These college and career ready cut scores for The ACT administered in 11th grade were determined through a stakeholder process that involved members of the Office of Educational Accountability as well as educators with expertise in ELA and mathematics, representatives from higher education, local districts, and education organizations.