What is the College Readiness Benchmark study?
The College Readiness Benchmark Study identifies MAP Growth cut scores that correspond to published college readiness benchmarks on the ACT and SAT, and provides details on how the cut scores were established and validated. For more details, see the College Readiness Benchmarks Study.
What do the scores mean?
Similar to other linking studies, the College Readiness Benchmark Study uses the test scores of students who took MAP Growth and the ACT or SAT in the spring of 11th grade to identify RIT scores that most accurately correspond with ACT and SAT college ready performances. For earlier grades and terms, MAP Growth norms are used to derive the RIT score a student would need to stay on track. These derivations assume the student makes a typical amount of growth each year, or grows at the 50th conditional growth percentile.
On Track
This student is likely to be on track for college readiness. More specifically, the benchmarks indicate whether this student is likely to score at or above the college readiness thresholds on college entrance exams:
- ACT: equal to or above 22 in reading or math
- SAT: equal to or above 480 in reading and writing and 530 in math
Not On Track
This student may not be on track for college readiness. Based on the student’s current RIT score, this student is likely to score below college readiness thresholds on college entrance exams:
- ACT: below 22 in reading or math
- SAT: below 480 in reading and writing and 530 in math
NOTE: Starting in September 2026, MAP Growth will report on the ACT 22 threshold only, replacing previous reporting of both 22 and 24. This directly reflects the ACT’s benchmarks for college readiness.
Which MAP Growth reports display college readiness details?
College readiness scores are available on reading and math reports for grades 6 through 11 that show projected proficiency information:
Why are the readiness cut scores and percentiles lower in older grades in some cases?
The grade 6 through 10 benchmarks are based partly on the amount of growth students at that achievement level typically make as they progress toward grade 11. Typical MAP Growth gains generally become smaller as students get older. For some high-performing students in the upper grades, particularly in reading, typical fall-to-spring growth can be flat or negative.
As a result, an earlier-grade student may need a somewhat higher RIT score to be on track to arrive at the same grade 11 benchmark after following a typical growth trajectory.
ACT Reading provides the clearest example. The spring on-track RIT score decreases from 237 in grade 6 to 227 in grade 11. Its associated achievement percentile decreases from about the 93rd percentile in grade 6 to the 69th percentile in grade 11. This does not mean the college readiness standard becomes easier in older grades. The grade-specific benchmarks reflect the different growth trajectories students typically follow as they approach the common grade 11 outcome.
For the same reason, the pattern differs by assessment and subject. Math cut scores increase through the middle grades and then are relatively stable in grades 8 through 11, while reading cut scores decline for the ACT and remain relatively stable for the SAT.
These cut scores should be interpreted as estimates of whether students are on track for college readiness, rather than as a sequence of RIT scores students are expected to increase toward each year.
See also
