What is the difference between grade equivalent scores, percentiles and stanines?
These three terms are used in reporting and analyzing results from nationally standardized achievement tests taken by students. These tests compare students with their national age peers. A student does not “pass” or “fail” them. The grade equivalent score indicates a student’s performance relative to the average performance of students at a given grade level. For example, a student who obtains a grade equivalent score (GE) of 7.3 indicates that he/she has achieved at the third month of the seventh grade level in that subject. Percentiles (not percentages) are used to compare the student with his/her age/grade level peers on a scale of 0 to 100. For most students, percentiles usually range from 40-60 (the average range). The stanine is a normalized standard score scale consisting of nine units with a mean of five and a standard deviation of two. Nine is very high; five is average; and, one is very low.
