Passing Standards

While the scale for the TASC test was established to have a common HSE scale score cut of 500 for passing across subject areas, the TASC Test Distinguished Achievement scale score cuts vary, with the Reading cut score higher (580) than those for Mathematics and Writing (560). Note that the Writing test requires a minimum score on the Essay, in addition to the scale score cut of 500, as shown in the table below.

Subject	Passing Score	Distinguished Achievement Score
Language Arts Reading	500	580
Mathematics	500	560
Language Arts Writing	500 and at least a 2 out of 8 on the Writing essay	560 and at least a 6 out of 8 on the Writing essay

In addition to the cut scores in the table above, Performance Level Descriptors (PLDs) provide more information about the types of skills and knowledge examinees can be expected to have, at or above the passing and the TASC Test Distinguished Achievement cut scores.