What the Graphic Literacy test is
Graphic Literacy is one of the three ACT WorkKeys tests behind the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC). Each question shows a workplace graphic, such as a gauge, an order form, a schedule, a table, a flowchart, a floor plan or a chart, and asks you to find, compare or interpret what it shows. It replaced Locating Information, and it includes questions on choosing the graphic that best shows a set of data.
The level depends on both the task and the graphic. Level 3 asks you to find one piece of information, or the next or missing step in a process, on a simple graphic with up to about 20 data points. Level 4 adds comparing, spotting a trend, making a decision and picking the graphic that matches the data. Level 5 asks you to compare and interpret trends and to justify a conclusion. Levels 6 and 7 ask the same of denser graphics: many variables, nested tables and charts read against more than one scale, often on less familiar content.
How Graphic Literacy is scored
Your raw score is the number of scored questions you get right; some questions are unscored trial items. ACT converts it to a scale score from 65 to 90, then to a level: 72 to 75 is Level 3, 76 to 77 Level 4, 78 to 81 Level 5, 82 to 85 Level 6 and 86 or more Level 7. Level 4 is only two scale points wide, so a few questions decide between Bronze and Silver.
On ACT’s one published practice form, scored out of 32, Level 3 started at 10 correct, Level 4 at 16, Level 5 at 18, Level 6 at 24 and Level 7 at 29. The top level asks for nearly every question, so accuracy on dense graphics matters more here than on the other two tests.
A method for each graphic
Most wrong answers come from reading the wrong part of the graphic, not from the question itself:
- Read the title, the legend, both axes and the units before you read the question.
- Work out what one mark on each scale is worth. Gauges and charts rarely step in ones.
- Find the exact row, column or series the question names, and put a finger or the cursor on it.
- When two graphics are shown, check which one each fact comes from.
- For “which chart” questions, check the categories and the values of each option against the data, not just the shape.
Worked example
A Level 3 style question: “A pressure gauge reads from 0 to 100 psi. There is a long mark, with a number, every 20 psi and a short mark every 5 psi. The needle points to the third short mark above 40. What pressure does the gauge show?” The options are 43 psi, 46 psi, 55 psi, 60 psi and 70 psi.
Between two numbered marks 20 psi apart there are three short marks, so each step is 5 psi. Three steps above 40 is 40 + 15 = 55 psi.
The wrong options each read the marks at the wrong value: 43 counts each mark as 1 psi, 46 as 2 psi and 70 as 10 psi. Working out the value of one mark first, before you count, avoids all three.
Tips for the real test
- When a graphic carries more than one question, the time you spend understanding it pays back more than once.
- Do the arithmetic in your head or on scratch paper: there is no calculator, but the sums are simple.
- Watch for questions that ask for a difference or a change rather than a value.
- On a multi-line graph, match the line to the legend by colour or marker, then check it again at the point you read.
- Skip and flag a graphic you cannot decode in a minute, and come back once the quicker questions are done.
Practise WorkKeys Graphic Literacy on CogniPrep
Our Graphic Literacy practice is the real length, 38 questions in 55 minutes, on gauges, forms, tables, flowcharts, floor plans, schedules and charts, with questions that use two graphics and questions where the answers are small charts. Graphics get denser as the level rises. You can move freely and flag questions on a review grid, and the result gives the level you would most likely reach using ACT’s practice-form cut-offs in proportion.