ACT, Wisconsin

Understanding Wisconsin’s ACT® Cut Scores: What They Mean for College and Career Readiness

For Wisconsin educators, understanding ACT® benchmark scores isn’t just about college readiness—they play a key role in state accountability and student support. Since 2015, Wisconsin has required all 11th graders to take the ACT® as their primary summative assessment, making these benchmarks critical for students, teachers, and school accountability.

In 2024, Wisconsin took a significant step by establishing specific cut scores that group students into four distinct achievement categories. Let’s explore what these changes mean for your students and how you can better prepare them for success.

Wisconsin’s Updated ACT® Cut Scores

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) now categorizes student performance into four levels: Advanced, Proficient, Basic, and Below Basic. These Wisconsin-specific cut scores differ from ACT®’s college readiness benchmarks, which focus on predicting success in first-year college courses, and instead reflect Wisconsin’s broader goals for measuring achievement within its own educational framework.

Here’s how the performance levels break down by subject:

English Language Arts

  • Advanced: 24-36
  • Proficient: 18-23
  • Basic: 14-17
  • Below Basic: 1-13

Mathematics

  • Advanced: 25-36
  • Proficient: 22-24
  • Basic: 17-21
  • Below Basic: 1-16

Science

  • Advanced: 26-36
  • Proficient: 23-25
  • Basic: 18-22
  • Below Basic: 1-17

Reading

  • Advanced: 25-36
  • Proficient: 22-24
  • Basic: 17-21
  • Below Basic: 1-16

Why These Scores Matter—Beyond College Readiness

While the ACT® still signals college readiness, in Wisconsin, it also serves as a cornerstone of the state’s school accountability system. ACT® results are used in conjunction with other assessments (like the Forward Exam) to calculate school and district report card scores, influencing funding decisions, improvement planning, and community perception. 

To build a more comprehensive readiness pathway, Wisconsin also began requiring PreACT® assessments for 9th and 10th graders in the 2022-23 school year. This addition creates a three-year window for educators to track student progress and intervene early before the high-stakes ACT®.

Supporting Students Across All Performance Levels

With four defined performance levels, educators can take a more strategic approach to ACT® preparation and student support. Consider these strategies:

  • Below Basic and Basic: Focus on foundational skills and provide frequent practice with ACT®-style questions. Small group interventions targeting specific skill gaps can help students build confidence while mastering essential concepts.
  • Proficient: Challenge them with complex texts and problems that mirror ACT® rigor. Help them develop test-taking strategies that maximize their strengths and manage time effectively.
  • Advanced: Provide enrichment opportunities that push beyond ACT® requirements while ensuring they maintain their skills. These students often benefit from peer tutoring roles, which reinforce their own understanding.

Building an Effective ACT® Prep Program

Successful ACT® prep should be integrated into your broader curriculum—not siloed. Wisconsin schools seeing the strongest gains tend to follow a systematic approach that includes:

  • Early identification through PreACT® results in 9th and 10th grade
  • Targeted skill development based on individual student needs
  • Regular benchmark assessments to track progress
  • Integration with core curriculum rather than isolated test prep

For example, Elmwood High School in Wisconsin transformed their ACT® scores by implementing a comprehensive preparation program. By using targeted practice aligned to state standards and providing personalized learning paths for each student, they saw significant gains across all subject areas.

Make ACT® Data Actionable 

Understanding where students stand is only the first step. With tools like Progress Learning, educators can go further by:

  • Creating individualized study plans based on ACT® and PreACT® performance
  • Using 200,000+ standards-aligned items to target learning gaps
  • Leveraging Quick-Click Remediation tied to specific ACT® domains
  • Monitoring progress with detailed reports to inform instruction

Ready to Strengthen Your ACT® Strategy?

Progress Learning supports schools across Wisconsin with ACT® and PreACT® resources that are aligned to Wisconsin’s state standards. Our platform provides built-in assessments, targeted skill practice, and robust progress monitoring tools—all designed to help students meet and exceed the new benchmarks.

Schedule a demo below to see how we can support your ACT® preparation goals!

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