On Wisconsin's ACT, PreACT Secure and ACT Aspire tests, Grade 9 ELA is reported on a scale from 1 to 35 (2024 to 2026), and each score falls into one of 4 performance levels. Reaching Meeting, at 15 or above, is the state's proficiency line.
The score ranges changed during these years, so each period has its own table below, newest first.
From 2024, Grade 9 ELA has new cut scores and new level names.
| Level | Score range | What it means | Statewide 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Developing | 1–11 | The lowest level, well below the state standard | 21% |
| Approaching | 12–14 | Approaching the state standard | 28% |
| Meeting | 15–23 | Meeting the state standard (the proficiency line) | 39% |
| Advanced | 24–35 | The highest level, above the state standard | 12% |
From 2023, Grade 9 ELA has a new score scale (1 to 35), so a score from before 2023 is not directly comparable to one from 2023 on. Percentiles are, because each year is compared with its own students.
| Level | Score range | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Below Basic | 1–11 | The lowest level, well below the state standard |
| Basic | 12–15 | Approaching the state standard |
| Proficient | 16–23 | Meeting the state standard (the proficiency line) |
| Advanced | 24–35 | The highest level, above the state standard |
| Level | Score range | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Below Basic | 403–419 | The lowest level, well below the state standard |
| Basic | 420–427 | Approaching the state standard |
| Proficient | 428–435 | Meeting the state standard (the proficiency line) |
| Advanced | 436–449 | The highest level, above the state standard |
Statewide in 2026, about 50% of the students counted for Grade 9 ELA reached Meeting or Advanced. The bar above shows the share at each level (left = lowest).
Grade 11: the ACT with writing, which Wisconsin gives every spring to all 11th graders, counting the 11th graders who received a score in that subject (in 2020 the test was given before schools closed in March). Grades 9 and 10: the ACT Aspire (2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022) and the PreACT Secure (from 2023), each student counted in the grade they were in. ELA combines the English, reading and writing tests (on the PreACT Secure, English and reading). Grade 10 Social Studies: the Forward Exam, which 10th graders take every spring (no test in 2020). A school's figures count only students enrolled at that school for the whole school year, and a district's only students enrolled in the district all year; the statewide figures count every student tested, including students who changed schools during the year. Students who did not test, and students who took the alternate test (DLM), are not included.
More on who is counted, and how: see how we count.
A score's meaning depends on where it lands in the ranges above, and on how it compares to other students who took the same test. Our free tool turns a Grade 9 ELA score into an estimated percentile versus the school, district, county and the whole state, so you can see where a score stands, not just its level.
Look up a Grade 9 ELA percentile →