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Displaying test results

Shortly after testing is completed, parents receive a summary report by mail or fax.   The first page of this report has a "normal curve" at the top.   Below that is a graph plotting all the test results on one page.   This makes all the strengths and weaknesses easy to see.

Grade level performance is indicated by the 50%ile, the number down the middle of the page. No student is "average" (or superior) on every task!

Later (generally within a week or two) you receive a written report that relates the individual student’s findings to what the research (and our experience) says can be done to improve reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension.

Test results are often reported to parents in the form of a "grade equivalent" (GE) score. GE is defined as the performance of a student in the middle of the class at that grade level. Assessment authorities discourage the use of grade equivalent scores, yet many educational agencies and school systems continue to require their use. (We comment on a proper use of grade equivalence on the Descriptions of Tests page, under word level reading skills.)

The following "bell curve" shows several interchangeable ways to report the results of standardized tests – in terms of standard deviations (SD, top line), standard scores (SS, second line), scaled scores (ss, third line), or percentiles (%ile, fourth line). Each of these measures indicates where a student is compared to other students of the same age and are preferable to using "grade equivalent" scores.

For many parents and teachers, percentiles will be the most intuitive way to discuss progress: imagine 100 students of the same age as your student lined up from the tallest to the shortest. A student at the 50^th percentile is in the middle, taller than half (50%) of the students. Similarly, a student at the 10%ile score is taller than 10% of the students at that age.

The best definition for "average," "grade level," or "age appropriate" performance is the 50^th percentile (written as 50%ile or sometimes 50%). This is the same as a standard score of 100 (written as SS 100) or a scaled score of 10 (written as ss 10). A student who is "catching up" will be increasing in percentile, moving, for example, from the 20%ile to the 32%ile.

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