ATT2 Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass

What "Passing" Actually Means for ATT2

"Passing score" for Aggregate Testing Technician - Level 2 isn't a single number. It's a compound requirement spanning two separate exam components and, within the written exam, a two-tier scoring rule that applies at both the standard level and the exam level. Candidates who focus only on an overall percentage often misjudge their readiness, because ACI's rules are built to catch technicians who are strong in some areas and weak in others.

Before any of this applies, you must already hold a current ACI Aggregate Testing Technician - Level 1 credential - see the full ATT2 requirements and eligibility guide if you haven't confirmed that prerequisite yet. Once eligible, you're scored on a written examination and a performance examination, and both must be passed to earn certification.

The Written Exam: 60% Per Standard, 70% Overall

The written examination is open-book using ACI-approved references, runs two hours, and contains approximately 100 multiple-choice questions. Those questions are distributed across the ten standards in the ATT2 job-task analysis, with eight to 12 questions allotted to each standard.

To pass the written exam, a candidate must score:

• At least 60% on every individual standard - no averaging across topics is allowed to compensate for a weak area.
• At least 70% overall across the full 100-question exam.

Both conditions must be satisfied simultaneously. A candidate who scores 95% overall but only 50% on one standard still fails the written exam. This is the single most important structural fact about ATT2 scoring, and it should directly shape how you allocate study time across the ten ATT2 exam domains.

Why the 60% Floor Matters More Than the 70% Average

Most candidates preparing for a multiple-choice exam default to broad review, assuming that strength in familiar areas will carry them through. ATT2's per-standard floor makes that strategy risky. With only eight to 12 questions per standard, missing even four or five questions on a single topic can drop that standard below the 60% line - even if your overall score comfortably clears 70%.

This matters most for standards candidates tend to underprepare because they seem procedural rather than conceptual, such as AASHTO T 176/ASTM D2419 (sand equivalent test) or AASHTO T 304/ASTM C1252 (uncompacted void content of fine aggregate). A technician confident in unit weight and abrasion testing can still fail the written exam entirely on a shaky sand equivalent score.

The practical implication: build your study plan around ten separate mini-goals, not one composite score. The ATT2 study guide walks through how to structure review sessions so no standard gets shortchanged.

The Performance Exam: A Separate Pass/Fail Hurdle

Passing the written exam only clears half the certification requirement. ATT2 also requires successful completion of a performance examination, which is closed-book. Unlike the written exam, there's no reference material to lean on - candidates must correctly demonstrate the prescribed procedure steps for applicable standards, or, where permitted, verbally describe the steps in the correct sequence.

The performance exam covers the seven standards that involve hands-on lab procedures. Three standards are excluded from the performance component entirely (covered in the next section), which narrows - but doesn't shrink the importance of - what you need to physically rehearse.

• Correct order of operations matters as much as correct technique.
• Verbal description is only a substitute where the procedure explicitly permits it - you can't assume it applies everywhere.
• Equipment setup, sample handling, and calculation steps are all fair game during demonstration.

Because the performance exam has no published percentage threshold in ACI's certification policy the way the written exam does, candidates should treat it as an all-or-nothing demonstration standard: every required step needs to be executed or described correctly. For a deeper look at how demanding this component is relative to the written exam, see how hard the ATT2 exam really is.

The Three Standards You Only Answer, Never Demonstrate

Three of the ten ATT2 standards are written-examination-only - they do not appear on the performance exam. That leaves seven practical standard areas for the hands-on component described above.

Some candidates mistakenly deprioritize these three because there's no lab demonstration attached. That's a mistake: they still carry eight to 12 questions each on the written exam, and each is subject to the same 60% floor as every other standard. A full breakdown of how these fit alongside the seven practical standards is available in the complete ATT2 exam domains guide.

The One-Year Window for Passing Both Components

ACI requires that both the written and performance examinations be passed within one year. This rule is more forgiving than it might sound: if you pass one component but not the other, the passed component remains usable for the remainder of that one-year period - you don't have to retake it while you work on the other.

However, if you fail a component, it must be retaken in full. There's no partial-credit carryover for a failed attempt; you sit the entire written exam again, or the entire performance exam again, depending on which one you didn't clear.

For exact scheduling windows and how sponsoring groups run these sessions, see the ATT2 exam dates and scheduling guide.

How Question Distribution Shapes Your Score Strategy

With approximately 100 questions spread across ten standards at eight to 12 questions each, the exam is close to evenly weighted - no single standard dominates the way it might on exams with heavily skewed domain weights. That even distribution is exactly why the 60%-per-standard rule bites: no standard is "small enough to skip."

Because the exam is open-book, the real bottleneck usually isn't recall - it's knowing exactly where in your ACI-approved references (including the CP-45 seventh-edition workbook) to find a given procedure's acceptance criteria fast enough to stay within the two-hour limit while covering all ten standards.

Domain-by-Domain: Where Points Are Won and Lost

Not every standard poses the same risk to your per-standard 60% floor. A few patterns show up repeatedly among candidates preparing for this exam.

A full topic-by-topic study map, including where past candidates report the most missed questions, is covered in the ATT2 cheat sheet.

Scheduling Study Time Around the Scoring Rules

Generic study techniques only help if they're mapped onto ATT2's actual scoring structure. Rather than reviewing all ten standards evenly every week, spaced repetition works better when it's weighted toward standards that pose the greatest 60%-floor risk - typically the ones with the fewest questions (eight) and the most procedural precision, such as sand equivalent and uncompacted void content.

For a longer version of this plan with daily task breakdowns, see the ATT2 study guide, and try full-length practice sets on our ATT2 practice test platform to simulate the per-standard scoring pressure before exam day.

What Happens If You Fail One Component

If you fail the written exam, the performance exam pass (if already earned) still stands within the one-year window - you retake only the written exam, in full. The reverse is also true: a written pass stays valid while you retake a failed performance exam. What you cannot do is retake only the standards you missed; each failed component is retaken as a whole exam.

This is one reason cost planning matters. Local sponsoring groups price the full package (study guide, review, written exam, and performance exam) as one bundle, and a retake of either component is typically an added cost. The ATT2 certification cost breakdown covers published local fee examples and what a retake tends to add to your total spend.

Once certified, the credential lasts five years. Recertification requires passing both the written and performance examinations again - the scoring rules don't loosen the second time around.

Frequently Asked Questions