Question

1. For the following, please assume that you are an expert in tests and measurements who is meeting with a parent who is unfamiliar with each of the following types of test-score interpretations to explain their child’s score on a math test. For each test score write a two- or three-sentence written description in such a way that a parent would understand. You can assume that each of these is a stand-alone statement (i.e., when describing B you can assume they have not heard your explanation of A). You should first describe the type of score and then what the score means for their child.

1. Percentile rank of 16.
2. Grade equivalent of 4.5 for a child who has just completed the sixth grade.
3. A z-score of +2.0.
4. Stanine score of 7.
5. Score of 3 standard deviations above the mean.

Answer 1

A. Percentile means 'Percentage below'. It is another way of mentioning your rank.

To score 16 percentile means that there are about 16 percent of people (who appeared for the test) who have scored less than you, that means you are in the top 84 percent of students who have scored great.

B. If the grading system is out of 10, then a grade of 4.5 means that the student has scored 45% marks in total.

C. A Z-score is a numerical measurement used in statistics of a value's relationship to the mean (average) of a group of values, measured in terms of standard deviations from the mean. A z-score of 2 is 2 standard deviations above the mean.

D. A stanine is a score on a nine-unit scale from 1 to 9, where a score of 5 describes the average performance. The highest stanine is 9; the lowest is 1. A stanine score of 7 means that it is above the average performance.

E. 'Score of 3 standard deviations above the mean' means that it is above the average performance from the rest of the class.