Provider Guide12 November 20266 min read

WorkKeys Levels Explained: What Bronze to Platinum Need on Each Test

How a WorkKeys raw score becomes a level and an NCRC: the scale bands for each test, how many questions each level took on ACT’s practice form, and why.

The short version

Each WorkKeys test gives a raw score, a scale score from 65 to 90 and a level from below 3 to 7. Employers act on the level.

The NCRC is set by your lowest level of the three: 3 Bronze, 4 Silver, 5 Gold, 6 Platinum. A 7 counts as Platinum.

The scale bands for each level differ by test. Graphic Literacy’s Level 4 is only two scale points wide.

On ACT’s published practice form, Level 5 took 20 of 31 in Applied Math, 18 of 32 in Graphic Literacy and 21 of 30 in Workplace Documents.

A WorkKeys result looks simple: a level on each test and a certificate colour. Underneath it are three conversions, and the third one, from three levels to one certificate, is where most candidates lose a level they did not need to. Once you can follow the chain, it is clear where your practice time is best spent.

Step 1: the raw score counts only scored questions

Your raw score on each test is the number of scored questions you got right. Every real form carries some unscored trial questions, and you cannot tell which they are, so the raw score is out of fewer than the 34, 38 and 35 questions you see. There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so a guess can only help.

Step 2: the raw score becomes a scale score

ACT converts each raw score to a scale score from 65 to 90. The point is fairness between forms: no two forms are exactly as hard as each other, and the conversion evens out those small differences. That is also why nobody can give you a fixed pass mark in questions for every sitting, and why we never print a scale score for a practice test. The table is specific to each form.

Step 3: the scale score becomes a level

Bands of scale scores map to levels from below 3 up to 7, and the level is the result employers use. The bands are not the same on every test, and ACT publishes the raw cut-offs for one official practice form alongside them. That form scores 31 Applied Math questions, 32 Graphic Literacy and 30 Workplace Documents.

Level 3, Bronze

Applied Math: Scale 72 to 75, raw 10 to 13 of 31
Graphic Literacy: Scale 72 to 75, raw 10 to 15 of 32
Workplace Documents: Scale 72 to 76, raw 11 to 15 of 30

Level 4, Silver

Applied Math: Scale 76 to 79, raw 14 to 19 of 31
Graphic Literacy: Scale 76 to 77, raw 16 to 17 of 32
Workplace Documents: Scale 77 to 80, raw 16 to 20 of 30

Level 5, Gold

Applied Math: Scale 80 to 82, raw 20 to 22 of 31
Graphic Literacy: Scale 78 to 81, raw 18 to 23 of 32
Workplace Documents: Scale 81 to 82, raw 21 to 22 of 30

Level 6, Platinum

Applied Math: Scale 83 to 85, raw 23 to 25 of 31
Graphic Literacy: Scale 82 to 85, raw 24 to 28 of 32
Workplace Documents: Scale 83 to 85, raw 23 to 25 of 30

Level 7, Platinum

Applied Math: Scale 86 to 90, raw 26 to 31 of 31
Graphic Literacy: Scale 86 to 90, raw 29 to 32 of 32
Workplace Documents: Scale 86 to 90, raw 26 to 30 of 30

Level	Applied Mathscale, raw of 31	Graphic Literacyscale, raw of 32	Workplace Documentsscale, raw of 30
3Bronze	72 to 7510 to 13	72 to 7510 to 15	72 to 7611 to 15
4Silver	76 to 7914 to 19	76 to 7716 to 17	77 to 8016 to 20
5Gold	80 to 8220 to 22	78 to 8118 to 23	81 to 8221 to 22
6Platinum	83 to 8523 to 25	82 to 8524 to 28	83 to 8523 to 25
7Platinum	86 to 9026 to 31	86 to 9029 to 32	86 to 9026 to 30

Below Level 3 is a scale score of 65 to 71 on every test, which on the practice form meant fewer than 10 right in Applied Math and Graphic Literacy, or fewer than 11 in Workplace Documents.

Step 4: three levels become one certificate

The National Career Readiness Certificate takes the lowest of your three levels. Level 3 on all three earns a Bronze, 4 a Silver, 5 a Gold and 6 a Platinum. A 7 adds nothing beyond Platinum, and below 3 on any test means no certificate at all.

Levels 6, 6 and 6

Platinum.

Levels 7, 6 and 4

Silver. Two Platinum-level tests do not lift the third.

Levels 5, 5 and 3

Bronze, until the third test reaches 5.

Levels 6, 5 and below 3

No certificate, though each test still has its own level.

What the table tells you

Graphic Literacy's Level 4 is narrow. It covers only scale scores 76 and 77, which on the practice form was 16 or 17 right. A couple of questions on that test decide between Bronze and Silver, so it is rarely the place to rush.

Level 7 in Graphic Literacy needs almost everything. On the practice form it started at 29 of 32, against 26 of 31 in Applied Math and 26 of 30 in Workplace Documents. Most candidates do not need a 7, so do not chase it at the cost of your weakest test.

Gold is a steep climb in Workplace Documents. Level 4 started at 16 of 30 and Level 5 at 21, five more right answers, and Level 5 to 6 is only two more. The step to Gold on the reading test is usually the hardest one in the whole certificate.

Raw figures are one form’s figures

The raw cut-offs above come from one practice form. A real form converts slightly differently, so read them as a guide to how much each level asks of you, not as an exact pass mark for the day.

What employers actually ask for

Some employers ask for a certificate: a Silver or a Gold. Others profile the job and set a level on each test, which can differ by test and by role at the same company. In November 2026 job postings, Reynolds American asked machine operators in Winston-Salem for Level 3 on all three tests and mechanical specialists for Level 4 in Applied Math, 5 in Workplace Documents and 4 in Graphic Literacy, while Eastman asked operations helpers in Kingsport for Level 6 in Applied Math and Workplace Documents and 5 in Graphic Literacy. Find out which you face before you prepare, because it changes which test deserves your time.

What this means for your preparation

Because the weakest test sets the certificate, the first job is to find it. Take one full practice test of each type under the real clock, then put most of your time into the lowest. Answer every question, since there is no penalty for guessing and blanks are the only certain zero. On Applied Math, learn the formula sheet before the day; on Graphic Literacy, read the scales and legend before the question; on Workplace Documents, read the question first and look for conditions such as "unless" and "only when".

Our ACT WorkKeys practice tests run each test at its real length and give the level you would most likely reach, using the practice-form cut-offs above in proportion to our own questions. The Applied Math practice is free, and the NCRC full sitting runs all three back to back and leads with the certificate and the test that set it.