PERT vs ACCUPLACER.

The short answer

The PERT (Postsecondary Education Readiness Test) is Florida’s customized common placement test. It has three subjects, Mathematics, Reading and Writing, with 30 multiple-choice questions each, and every subject is scored from 50 to 150. The PERT exam guide covers its format in detail.

Next-Generation ACCUPLACER is a College Board placement suite. It splits math into separate tests (Arithmetic; Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics, called QAS; and Advanced Algebra and Functions, called AAF), adds a WritePlacer essay (given only if your institution assigns it) and four ESL tests, and scores its main tests from 200 to 300.

Both are on the list of common placement tests approved in Rule 6A-10.0315, so a Florida college may place you with either one. The rule sets a separate college-ready (standard) score for each test, which is why the numbers are not interchangeable: PERT Reading 106 and ACCUPLACER Reading 256 both meet the standard, but neither number tells you what you would earn on the other test.

PERT and ACCUPLACER side by side

The table below compares the two tests feature by feature. ACCUPLACER question counts are for the standard adaptive forms described in College Board’s 2019 technical manual and its test specifications. Those documents are older than this page, so confirm current details with your test center.

The PERT’s 30 questions include 5 field-test questions that do not count. You won’t be told which 5 are unscored, so treat every question as if it counts.

The Florida rule sets no college-ready score for ACCUPLACER Arithmetic, AAF or WritePlacer. Only QAS, Reading and Writing have Florida standard scores. Before August 2022 the rule used interim ACCUPLACER scores (QAS 242, Reading 245, Writing 245); those are historical.

ACCUPLACER score reports also include College Readiness Skills Insight statements in seven score bands, describing what students in each band are likely to know and be able to do. The PERT reports a 50–150 score per subject; the PERT scoring guide explains how colleges use it.

Which test your college uses, and how to ask

The state rule, 6A-10.0315(6), F.A.C., lets each college set local policies for which approved measures it accepts. Besides the PERT and ACCUPLACER, the rule approves the SAT, the digital SAT, the ACT and the Classic Learning Test, and since March 15, 2022 colleges may also use alternative methods such as high school coursework. Some students don’t need to test at all, including many Florida public high school graduates with a standard diploma and active-duty military; who is exempt explains the details.

A few Florida colleges describe their own policies. These are examples from each college, not statewide rules:

• Broward College offers ACCUPLACER Next-Gen at the same fees as the PERT.
• Eastern Florida State College offers a fee-based virtual ACCUPLACER Next-Gen through Meazure Learning and describes it as equivalent to the PERT. Its virtual option is ACCUPLACER, not the PERT.
• Palm Beach State College places students with the PERT up to certain courses but requires ACCUPLACER AAF, ACT or SAT scores for MAC1114 and higher math courses.
• Polk State College accepts ACCUPLACER results that are sent officially to its Registrar.

Because the choice is local, the testing center is the place to ask. Ask these before you book anything:

1. Am I exempt from placement testing, or do my SAT, ACT or high school coursework already place me?
2. Which test do you give for placement: the PERT, ACCUPLACER or either?
3. If ACCUPLACER, which tests will I take (Reading, Writing, QAS, AAF, WritePlacer)?
4. Which subjects do I still need, and which course am I aiming for in each?
5. Do you accept scores from another college or from my high school?
6. What does the test cost, and what are the retake rules?

If you already took the PERT at another Florida college or high school, you usually do not need to send the scores: FDOE says all college testing centers can access PERT scores, so contact the testing center. Scores generally count for two years; see how long PERT scores last. The PERT test dates page explains how to book a session, and the retake policy page compares local retake rules.

Why PERT and ACCUPLACER scores don’t convert

There is no official concordance between PERT and ACCUPLACER scores. The PERT reports 50–150 per subject and ACCUPLACER reports 200–300 per test, and neither College Board nor the Florida rule publishes a table linking them. The rule handles the difference by giving each test its own standard score.

Read each row as two separate bars, not as an exchange rate. A PERT Reading score of 110 meets the PERT standard; it says nothing about whether you would reach 256 on ACCUPLACER Reading, because the tests measure skills with different questions and scales. The same goes for ratios or percentages: 114 out of 150 and 261 out of 300 are not comparable fractions of anything.

The math tests also differ in scope. PERT Mathematics is one test; the study guide’s outline runs from signed and fractional arithmetic through linear equations, lines and polynomials. On ACCUPLACER the Florida standard applies to QAS, while Arithmetic and AAF have no Florida standard score; colleges use them for their own placement decisions. A strong PERT math score therefore does not tell you which ACCUPLACER math test you would be assigned, let alone your score on it.

Each subject counts separately on both tests, so do not average across subjects. If you have more than one score on an approved common placement test, the rule uses your highest. Meeting a college-ready score also does not by itself place you into every higher course; rules for College Algebra and above vary by college. See what counts as a good PERT score for local placement examples, and use the PERT score calculator to compare an official PERT score with the standard.

How preparation differs

Both tests are adaptive and untimed (College Board says ACCUPLACER is untimed in most instances), and both show an on-screen calculator only on some math questions. The habits you build for one, such as working each question to a firm answer and checking it before you submit, carry over to the other. The content and structure are where your preparation should split.

For the PERT, the free PERT course has 49 lessons across the three subjects. Work through PERT Math with the algebra question guide and the expressions question guide; for Reading and Writing, the inference and evidence guide and the grammar and sentence editing guide show the method on worked examples. The PERT study plan turns all of it into a 14-, 30- or 60-day schedule.

For ACCUPLACER, the assignment matters more than anything else. Practicing AAF topics is wasted effort if your college only places you with QAS, and a WritePlacer essay needs separate writing practice that PERT preparation does not include. Ask first, then prepare with College Board’s materials for the tests you are given.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

PERT rules are set by Florida law and by each college. These are the pages this guide relies on; your testing center’s current instructions take priority.

1. Florida Administrative Code, State Board of Education Rule 6A-10.0315, F.A.C., Demonstration of Readiness for College-Level Communication and Computation. Accessed November 5, 2026.
2. The Florida Legislature, Section 1008.30, Florida Statutes: Common placement testing for public postsecondary education. Accessed November 5, 2026.
3. Florida Department of Education, Demonstration of College Readiness (Formerly Common Placement Testing/PERT). Accessed October 3, 2026.
4. Florida Department of Education, P.E.R.T. Student Study Guide (undated, linked from the FDOE page). Accessed October 3, 2026.
5. Florida Department of Education, P.E.R.T. Frequently Asked Questions, revised February 2015 (historical). Accessed October 3, 2026.
6. Miami Dade College, Testing: PERT. Accessed November 5, 2026.
7. College Board, What’s on the ACCUPLACER Tests. Accessed November 5, 2026.
8. College Board, Get Ready for Test Day. Accessed November 5, 2026.
9. College Board, Understanding Your ACCUPLACER Scores. Accessed November 5, 2026.
10. College Board, ACCUPLACER Suite of Assessments Technical Manual (April 2019). Accessed October 3, 2026.
11. College Board, Test Specifications Version 2.0, Next-Generation ACCUPLACER. Accessed November 5, 2026.
12. College Board, How do ACCUPLACER test units work?. Accessed November 5, 2026.
13. Broward College, Testing Fees. Accessed November 5, 2026.
14. Eastern Florida State College, Common Placement Tests Information. Accessed November 5, 2026.
15. Palm Beach State College, Placement Test Scores. Accessed November 5, 2026.
16. Polk State College, PERT Q & A. Accessed November 5, 2026.