Master of Arts in Education

Major in Administration and Supervision

ED 203 TEST CONSTRUCTION AND EVALUATION
OF CURRICULUM
Chapter 4 : INTERPRETING TEST RESULT

SARA JEAN C. CAVITANA DANDY NAGRAMPA, EdD

Reporter Professor
TEST AND RAW SCORE
Interpreting a "Test and Raw Score"
result typically involves understanding
what the test measures, the scoring
system used, and the context in which
the test was taken. Here’s a general
guide on how to interpret such results
1. Understand the Test

•Type of Test: Determine whether it’s an

educational, psychological, physical, or
other types of test.
•Purpose: Understand what the test is
designed to measure (e.g., knowledge in a
subject, aptitude, psychological traits).
2. Raw Score
•Definition: The raw score is the initial score
obtained based on the number of correct
answers or points earned on the test before
any adjustments or scaling.
•Format: Usually presented as a numerical
value, such as 85 out of 100
3. Contextual Information
•Total Possible Score: Know the maximum
possible raw score. For example, if the test
has 100 questions, the maximum raw score
is 100.
•Passing Score: Identify if there is a
minimum score required to pass or be
considered proficient.
4. Interpreting the Raw Score
•Percentage: Often, raw scores are converted to
percentages for easier interpretation. For example, a
raw score of 85 out of 100 can be interpreted as 85%.
•Comparison with Norms: Check if there are norms
or average scores provided. This helps in comparing
your score with the average performance of a larger
group.
•Scaled Scores: Some tests convert raw scores into
scaled scores to account for difficulty variations across
Understanding the Implications
•Educational Tests: Higher raw scores typically
indicate better performance or mastery of the subject
matter.
•Psychological Assessments: Raw scores may need to
be interpreted with norm tables that indicate how the
score compares to a standard population.
•Physical Tests: Raw scores can indicate levels of
fitness, strength, or other physical attributes
Example Interpretation
Suppose you took a math test with 50 questions
and your raw score is 40:
•Raw Score: 40 out of 50
•Percentage: (40/50) * 100 = 80%
•Passing Score: If the passing score is 35, then
you have passed.
•Norms: If the average score is 30, then your
score is above average.
INTERPRETING TEST SCORE
MEAN, MEDIAN AND MODE
Interpreting test scores involves
understanding the statistical measures
used to summarize and analyze the data,
such as the mean, median, and mode.
Here’s a detailed guide on how to interpret
these measures:
1. Mean
•Definition: The mean is the arithmetic average of all the
test scores.
•Calculation: Add up all the scores and divide by the
number of scores.
• Example: For scores 80, 85, 90, 95, and 100, the mean
is (80 + 85 + 90 + 95 + 100) / 5 = 90.
•Interpretation: The mean gives an overall average score,
providing a general idea of the group’s performance.
However, it can be affected by extremely high or low
scores (outliers).
Median
•Definition: The median is the middle score when all the scores are
arranged in ascending or descending order.
•Calculation:
• For an odd number of scores, it’s the middle one.
• For an even number of scores, it’s the average of the two middle
scores.
• Example: For scores 80, 85, 90, 95, and 100, the median is 90
(middle score). For scores 80, 85, 90, 95, 100, and 105, the median
is (90 + 95) / 2 = 92.5.
•Interpretation: The median provides the central tendency of the data,
unaffected by outliers, giving a better sense of the middle performance
level of the group.
3. Mode
•Definition: The mode is the most frequently occurring score in
a set of data.
•Calculation: Identify the score that appears most often.
• Example: For scores 80, 85, 85, 90, 95, and 100, the mode
is 85.
•Interpretation: The mode indicates the most common score,
which can highlight trends in performance. There can be more
than one mode (bimodal or multimodal) or no mode if all
scores are unique.
Understanding the Context
To effectively interpret test scores, it’s crucial to understand the
context in which these statistics are used:
•Distribution Shape:
• Normal Distribution: Mean, median, and mode are close to
each other.
• Skewed Distribution:
• Right-Skewed (positive): Mean is greater than the median.
• Left-Skewed (negative): Mean is less than the median.
•Performance Level: Comparing individual scores to these
measures helps identify whether a score is above or below average
Practical Example
Imagine a class of students took a test, and their scores are as follows: 55,
60, 65, 70, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95.
•Mean:
• Sum = 745
• Number of scores = 10
• Mean = 745 / 10 = 74.5
•Median:
• Ordered scores: 55, 60, 65, 70, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95
• Middle values = 70 and 75
• Median = (70 + 75) / 2 = 72.5
•Mode:
• Mode = 70 (most frequent score)
Interpretation
•The mean score of 74.5 indicates the average
performance of the class.
•The median score of 72.5 suggests the middle
performance, showing that half of the students scored
below and half scored above this value.
•The mode score of 70 highlights the most common
score, indicating a cluster of students scoring around this
value.
By using the mean, median, and mode together, you can
get a comprehensive view of the test performance,
understanding both central trends and any potential
skewness in the data.
Criterion-Referenced
Tests (CRTs)
Purpose:
CRTs are designed to measure a student's
performance against a defined set of criteria or
learning standards. The goal is to determine
whether each student has acquired specific
knowledge or skills.
Characteristics:

Standards-Based: The test content is based on

predefined learning objectives or standards.
Performance Level: Results are typically reported as
the number or percentage of items answered
correctly, or as a performance level (e.g., proficient,
advanced).
Absolute Measure: Students are assessed against a
fixed standard, not against the performance of other
students.
Examples:

State achievement tests aligned with

educational standards.
End-of-course exams that determine if
students have mastered the material
Interpretation:

A student's score indicates what they

know and can do in relation to the
criteria.
Useful for determining whether students
have achieved specific competencies or
need further instruction.
Norm-Referenced Tests
(NRTs)
NRTs are designed to compare and rank
test-takers in relation to one another.
The goal is to see how an individual's
performance compares to a norm group,
which is a representative sample of test-
takers.
Interpretation:

Results are interpreted in terms of relative

performance (e.g., percentiles, standard
scores).
The emphasis is on ranking individuals to
determine who performs better or worse
compared to the norm group.
Performance is often reported in terms of
percentile ranks, standard scores, or z-scores
Use:

Used to identify where an individual stands in

comparison to others, often for purposes such
as admissions, placement, and selection.
Common in settings like college entrance
exams (e.g., SAT, ACT), IQ tests, and
standardized achievement tests used to
compare student performance across schools
or districts.
Examples and Key Differences:

CRTs: Focus on individual performance against

specific criteria. For example, a math test
designed to see if students can perform addition
and subtraction up to a certain level of difficulty.

NRTs: Focus on comparing individuals to each

other. For example, a standardized test like the
SAT, where scores are used to rank students for
college admissions.
In summary, CRTs assess whether specific
criteria or standards are met by the test-taker,
while NRTs assess how a test-taker's
performance compares to that of others. Each
type of test has its own applications and is
chosen based on the goal of the assessment
Percentile Norm Standard Score
Percentile Rank
Definition:
A percentile rank indicates the percentage
of scores in the norm group that fall below
a particular score. It shows the relative
standing of an individual within the norm
group.
Interpretation:

If a test-taker's score is at the 85th

percentile, it means that they scored
better than 85% of the individuals in the
norm group.
Percentiles range from 1 to 99, with 50
being the median (the middle score where
half the scores are below, and half are
above).
Standard Score
Definition:
A standard score is a transformed score
that has a fixed mean and standard
deviation in the norm group, allowing for
comparison across different tests or
measurements.
Common Types:

Z-Scores: Have a mean of 0 and a standard

deviation of 1. A z-score indicates how many
standard deviations a score is from the mean.
T-Scores: Have a mean of 50 and a standard
deviation of 10.
IQ Scores: Often have a mean of 100 and a standard
deviation of 15.
SAT Scores: Traditionally have a mean of 500 and a
standard deviation of 100 (though the specific
metrics can vary with different versions of the test).
Interpretation:

A standard score tells you how far and in

what direction a score deviates from the
mean of the norm group.
Positive standard scores indicate above-
average performance, while negative
standard scores indicate below-average
performance
Example:

If a student has a z-score of +2.0 on a

math test, they scored 2 standard
deviations above the mean, indicating
superior performance relative to the
norm group
 Comparison and Use
Percentile Rank:

Easier for general understanding because it

directly relates to the percentage of the
population.
Commonly used in educational settings to
communicate student performance to
parents and teachers.
Standard Score:

More precise in terms of statistical properties and

useful for further statistical analysis.
Enables comparison across different tests with
varying difficulty levels or scoring methods.
Example of Use:

In a national standardized test, a student's raw

score might be converted into both a percentile
rank and a standard score to provide a
comprehensive view of their performance. For
instance, a raw score could place a student at
the 75th percentile and correspond to a z-score
of +0.67, indicating that the student scored
better than 75% of their peers and is 0.67
standard deviations above the mean.
In summary, both percentile rank and
standard scores are valuable for
interpreting norm-referenced test results,
with percentile ranks providing an
intuitive understanding of relative
standing and standard scores offering
detailed statistical insight
THANK YOU!