Understanding Your Child’s Standardized Test Score Report

Show us a parent, and we’ll show you someone who’s said, “What does this all mean?” about their child’s standardized test score report. Whether it’s the i-Ready, NWEA MAP, Star360, or PSAT 8/9, the score reports can provide helpful insights into your child’s academic progress. So it’s important for you to know how to read them!

Below, we’ll look at common elements of score reports so that you can identify key takeaways. We’ll also help you put this narrow evaluation of your child’s skills in perspective.

Why do schools give standardized tests?

These tests give schools a snapshot of how students are performing. They assess reading and math skills (and sometimes other academic areas). The score reports provide a way to see where a child stands compared to their peers and to their own past performance. However, it’s important to remember: This is just one piece of data. It reflects a moment in time, not the full picture of your child’s abilities.  

Standardized tests also show schools and districts how students are measuring up to state standards. The data can be used to make decisions about curriculum and resources, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions.

What do the terms on the score report mean?

Let’s take a minute to make sense of all that confusing language on score reports! Following are the most common terms used to explain the data. We’ve provided basic descriptions. For more in-depth explanations, visit a specific test’s website. (Not all of these terms are included on all reports.)

Raw Score

This score is the easiest to understand. It’s the number of questions your child answered correctly. For example, if they answered 43 questions correctly out of 50, their raw score is 86 or 86%.

Scaled Score

When there are multiple versions of a test, the scaled score accounts for any differences in difficulty. For example, your child’s version of the fall assessment may have a few harder questions than the version their classmate received. Translating their raw scores to scaled scores means that your child won’t be dinged for taking a more challenging test. And their classmate won’t be unfairly rewarded for taking a somewhat easier test. Scaled scores also make it possible to compare your child’s performance on the test from one season or year to the next.

Percentile

This measure shows how your child performed compared to other students. If your child is in the 90th percentile, that means that they scored as well as or better than 90% of the test takers they’re being compared to.

Grade Equivalent

This one is frequently misunderstood! Let’s say your fourth grader’s grade equivalent for the reading section is 7.5. The 7.5 means a student in the fifth month of seventh grade. That does not mean that your child is performing seventh grade level work. It means that your child correctly answered the number of questions we’d expect a seventh grader to answer if they took that same test. In other words, the grade equivalent tells you how a seventh grader would do if they took a fourth grade test. If your fourth grader’s equivalent is 5.2, it means they performed as well as we’d expect a fifth grader to on a fourth grade test.

Quantile

This score basically matches your child’s math abilities to the skills they are ready to learn. It also points you to appropriately-leveled learning resources. 

Lexile or ZPD

Similar to Quantile, the Lexile score serves as a guide to which books and reading materials align with your child’s reading ability. ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development) is a similar score used on some reports.

What should families focus on?

Once your child has taken a test multiple times, review their scaled scores for each test. If their scaled scores increase from one test to the next, or year to year, that’s progress! If it stays the same or drops, it could indicate that your child needs extra support to master the tested skills.

Looking at both scaled scores and percentiles on tests over time can be confusing. Here’s one way to think about it. The scaled scores show your child’s personal progress, while the percentiles show their progress compared to other students. For example, when comparing the most recent test to the previous one, you might see that your child’s scaled score went up but their percentile went down. That means that your child performed better on the most recent test than they did on the previous test (scaled score). But that more students performed better than your child on the most recent test compared to the previous one (percentile).  

Usually it’s more helpful to focus on your child’s growth from one test to the next—their scaled scores. That shows you whether or not they’re progressing based on their learning profile. However, if your child is taking one of these tests as a placement or admissions test, you’ll want to focus on how their scores compare to other test takers—their percentiles. That’s what the school will use as a cut off when making decisions about who will be let into a class or school.

How can this information help your child?

Some reports give useful breakdowns describing which skills your child has mastered and which they need to work on. Those details, along with the Quantile and Lexile scores can guide you to learning materials you can use at home. This info is really helpful for your tutor, too! Consistent practice with appropriate tools will help your child develop their skills. You should see this growth reflected in their school work, too.

We also encourage you to talk with your child’s teacher(s). They’ll provide additional insights into the score report. Teachers also have a broader understanding of your child’s day-to-day performance and challenges that a standardized test might not capture. For example, they can talk about how pacing, anxiety, attention, or learning gaps may have impacted your child’s performance on a test, as well as their everyday work.  

How important are the standardized test scores?

Standardized test scores provide valuable information, but they aren’t the whole story. The test is just one way to measure your child’s learning progress. Step back to see broader trends and use them to guide your child’s learning plan—not to define their abilities or potential.  

In the end, the goal isn’t only to achieve certain scores. It’s about helping your child to learn and grow at their own pace. Keep the big picture in mind, stay curious about what they’re learning, and celebrate progress!

One of our tutoring directors would be happy to review your child’s score report with you!