Reading
Standards are provided for each Reading Test score range (except for the 1–12 range) along a score scale that is common to:
- ACT Explore (1–25)
- ACT Plan (1–32)
- The ACT (1–36)
View or print the set of Reading Standards on two 8-1/2 x 11 pages (PDF).
Please note that the College Readiness Standards for Reading also include Descriptions of Reading Passages, which clarify the kinds of passages referred to in the Standards.
| Score Range 13–15 |
Score Range 16–19 |
Score Range 20–23 |
Score Range 24–27 |
Score Range 28–32 |
Score Range 33–36 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main Ideas and Author's Approach | Recognize a clear intent of an author or narrator in uncomplicated literary narratives |
Identify a clear main idea or purpose of straightforward paragraphs in uncomplicated literary narratives |
Infer the main idea or purpose of straightforward paragraphs in uncomplicated literary narratives Understand the overall approach taken by an author or narrator (e.g., point of view, kinds of evidence used) in uncomplicated passages |
Identify a clear main idea or purpose of any paragraph or paragraphs in uncomplicated passages Infer the main idea or purpose of straightforward paragraphs in more challenging passages Summarize basic events and ideas in more challenging passages Understand the overall approach taken by an author or narrator (e.g., point of view, kinds of evidence used) in more challenging passages |
Infer the main idea or purpose of more challenging passages or their paragraphs Summarize events and ideas in virtually any passage Understand the overall approach taken by an author or narrator (e.g., point of view, kinds of evidence used) in virtually any passage |
Identify clear main ideas or purposes of complex passages or their paragraphs |
| Supporting Details | Locate basic facts (e.g., names, dates, events) clearly stated in a passage | Locate simple details at the sentence and paragraph level in uncomplicated passages Recognize a clear function of a part of an uncomplicated passage |
Locate important details in uncomplicated passages Make simple inferences about how details are used in passages |
Locate important details in more challenging passages Locate and interpret minor or subtly stated details in uncomplicated passages Discern which details, though they may appear in different sections throughout a passage, support important points in more challenging passages |
Locate and interpret minor or subtly stated details in more challenging passages Use details from different sections of some complex informational passages to support a specific point or argument |
Locate and interpret details in complex passages Understand the function of a part of a passage when the function is subtle or complex |
| Score Range 13–15 |
Score Range 16–19 |
Score Range 20–23 |
Score Range 24–27 |
Score Range 28–32 |
Score Range 33–36 |
|
| Sequential, Comparative, and Cause-Effect Relationships | Determine when (e.g., first, last, before, after) or if an event occurred in uncomplicated passages Recognize clear cause-effect relationships described within a single sentence in a passage |
Identify relationships between main characters in uncomplicated literary narratives Recognize clear cause-effect relationships within a single paragraph in uncomplicated literary narratives |
Order simple sequences of events in uncomplicated literary narratives Identify clear relationships between people, ideas, and so on in uncomplicated passages Identify clear cause-effect relationships in uncomplicated passages |
Order sequences of events in uncomplicated passages Understand relationships between people, ideas, and so on in uncomplicated passages Identify clear relationships between characters, ideas, and so on in more challenging literary narratives Understand implied or subtly stated cause-effect relationships in uncomplicated passages Identify clear cause-effect relationships in more challenging passages |
Order sequences of events in more challenging passages Understand the dynamics between people, ideas, and so on in more challenging passages Understand implied or subtly stated cause-effect relationships in more challenging passages |
Order sequences of events in complex passages Understand the subtleties in relationships between people, ideas, and so on in virtually any passage Understand implied, subtle, or complex cause-effect relationships in virtually any passage |
| Meanings of Words | Understand the implication of a familiar word or phrase and of simple descriptive language | Use context to understand basic figurative language | Use context to determine the appropriate meaning of some figurative and nonfigurative words, phrases, and statements in uncomplicated passages | Use context to determine the appropriate meaning of virtually any word, phrase, or statement in uncomplicated passages Use context to determine the appropriate meaning of some figurative and nonfigurative words, phrases, and statements in more challenging passages |
Determine the appropriate meaning of words, phrases, or statements from figurative or somewhat technical contexts | Determine, even when the language is richly figurative and the vocabulary is difficult, the appropriate meaning of context-dependent words, phrases, or statements in virtually any passage |
| Score Range 13–15 |
Score Range 16–19 |
Score Range 20–23 |
Score Range 24–27 |
Score Range 28–32 |
Score Range 33–36 |
|
| Generalizations and Conclusions | Draw simple generalizations and conclusions about the main characters in uncomplicated literary narratives | Draw simple generalizations and conclusions about people, ideas, and so on in uncomplicated passages | Draw generalizations and conclusions about people, ideas, and so on in uncomplicated passages Draw simple generalizations and conclusions using details that support the main points of more challenging passages |
Draw subtle generalizations and conclusions about characters, ideas, and so on in uncomplicated literary narratives Draw generalizations and conclusions about people, ideas, and so on in more challenging passages |
Use information from one or more sections of a more challenging passage to draw generalizations and conclusions about people, ideas, and so on | Draw complex or subtle generalizations and conclusions about people, ideas, and so on, often by synthesizing information from different portions of the passage Understand and generalize about portions of a complex literary narrative |
| Ideas for Progress Score Range 1–12 |
Ideas for Progress Score Range 13–15 |
Ideas for Progress Score Range 16–19 |
Ideas for Progress Score Range 20–23 |
Ideas for Progress Score Range 24–27 |
Ideas for Progress Score Range 28–32 |
Notes:
- Students who score in the 1–12 range are most likely beginning to develop the knowledge and skills assessed in the other ranges.
- Standards for the 28–32 range are specific to PLAN and the ACT while the Standards for the 33–36 range pertain to the ACT only.
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