Categories of Scores Reported in State and Local Assessment Reports
Source: Pearson Allyn Bacon Prentice Hall
Topics: Middle Years (5-9), Preteen Years (9-13), Teen Years (13-19), Education Evaluations, State Testing Results
The table below illustrates typical scores from national and statewide assessments. Studying a specific student's score or the score of a group of students provides helpful information for linking assessment with instruction.
| Type | Description | Interpretation |
| Standard Score (SS) | This score allows comparison of the student to a group of other students. Standard scores have a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. Scores falling between 85–115 are average. | A student received a score of 55, which is over 2 standard deviations below the mean, placing the student in the considerably below average range. |
| Grade Equivalent (GE) | This score indicates the grade and month of the school year for which the score is average. | A student who is in the seventh grade and was tested in September scored 7.1. The score would be interpreted as average. |
| National percentile rank (NPR) | This score compares the student’s score to the percentage of the norm group that performed at or below the student’s score. | A student received a score of 39, which is interpreted as the student scored the same as or better than 39 percent of the students of the same age who took the same test. |
| Normal curve equivalent (NCE) | This score allows comparison of the student to a group of other students. This score has a mean of 50 and a range of 0–99. | A student received an NCE of 49, which means that the student scored about average for students of the same age who took this test. |
| National stanines (NS) | This score ranges from 1 to 9, with a score of 5 representing an average score. | A student received a score of 1, which means that the student scored significantly below average. |
Excerpted From:
Excerpt from Assessment of Children & Youth with Special Needs, by L.G. Cohen & L.J. Spenciner, 2007 edition, p. 151.
© 2007, Merrill, an imprint of Pearson Education Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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