Understanding Test Results

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At Poulton Respondek Clinical Psychology we walk through the assessment results with you to ensure you have a detailed understanding of the findings, interpretations and recommendations. In addition, we have provided the information below to further assist you in reading the results of a cognitive assessment report.

 

Percentile Ranks

 

Assessment scores are usually presented in the form of percentiles. A percentile score ranks a child’s performance against his/her age-related peers (the average percentile rank is 50). For example, a child who scores at the 94th percentile is performing better than 94% of children in his/her group.

 

Age Equivalent Score

 

An average child of the age specified would score the same as your child, had he/she taken the same test.

 

Standard Score

 

A Standard Score, which is derived from a raw score, indicates how many standard deviations away the child’s score is from the mean/average for a particular age group.The average IQ is a standard score of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. An IQ of 100 is at the 50th percentile.

 

The average child will earn a standard score of 100. If a child scores 1 standard deviation above the mean, the standard score is 100 plus 15; i.e. 100 + 15 = 115. If the child scores 1 standard deviation below the mean, this is 100 minus 15, i.e. 100 - 15 = 85. Since a standard score of 115 is 1 standard deviation above the mean, it is always at the 84 percent level. Since a standard score of 85 is 1 standard deviation below the mean, it is always at the 16 percent level. A standard score of 130 (+2 SD) is always at the 98 percent level. A standard score of 70 (-2 SD) is always at the 2 percent level.

 

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