US Students
District Testing
Are You College-Ready?
The ACT helps you show it.
To help translate numbers on a test into preparedness in the classroom, ACT established its College Readiness Benchmarks: the ACT scores that indicate a student is ready for common first-year college courses.
Setting the Bar for Success: Are You Ready for College-level Courses?
You want to succeed in college. Your school wants you to succeed. If you meet the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks, you are demonstrating that you are ready to jump into your first-year college courses from day one. When you take the ACT, your ACT score report includes your College Readiness Benchmark scores. To see them, log in to MyACT and select the AM I READY FOR COLLEGE tab below your scores. You will see a series of bars with your score in each subject, as well as the benchmark score indicated with a marker.
If your score is at or above the BENCHMARK, then you have a good chance of passing an entry-level course in the same subject in college. If you don’t meet some of the benchmarks, you can focus your preparation on those areas if you decide to take the test again, or if you want to make sure you are on track as you head into college. If you’ve already taken the ACT, log in to MyACT to see your scores and benchmarks.
What Are the ACT Benchmark Scores?
Based on an analysis of actual student performance in college from 214 institutions and over 230,000 students, the Benchmarks are the ACT subject scores that suggest a student has a high probability to succeed in related credit courses in college.
Students who reach these Benchmark scores on the ACT have approximately a 50 percent chance of earning a B or better and approximately a 75 percent chance of earning a passing grade in the related courses. That means you can enroll with confidence that you are prepared for the coursework.
How Do Schools Use ACT College Readiness Benchmarks?
In addition to demonstrating a student’s readiness, the Benchmarks can be used to aid in college course placement decisions, identify students who may need additional support, and to monitor improvement so students can successfully progress towards graduation at their university.
Resources To Prep for a Retest
Are you close to meeting all the Benchmarks? Check out official ACT test prep materials and schedule your retest to show you’re college-ready.