Kathryn Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 DS took the CAT last week. I just checked his results online and am confused. He didn't miss a single question on any part of the test, Yet his NPR (national percentage rank) ranges from 90 to 98 on different sections, putting him in the 8 stanine for some sections and 9 for others. Can someone explain how this works if he didn't miss any questions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 All it means that the portion of students who also missed no question varies from section to section. If he is in the 90th percentile in section A with a perfect score, that means that the top 10% of all kids also had a perfect score in section A. If he is in th 98th percentile in section B with a perfect score, it means that only the top 2% of students mannaged a perfect score in section B. Clearly it means that a test like this is not designed to show differences in performance among the top students. ETA: If you had a test where your student scored in the 50th percentile with a perfect score, that would not mean that the student performed poorly, but that the test was so easy that half the kids got everything correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 That means that a lot of kids didn't miss any questions. Especially on the 90% section. Basically, on that test, 10% of the kids score a perfect score on that section. On the 98% section, 2% score a perfect score. The scores are based on how well he did compared to a normed group of students. The percentile is not a percent of how many he got correct. Stanine scores just break it into a single digit score. 7,8,9 are above average. Since so many students did well on the one area, that area's top stanine would be 8. A 9 stanine would usually indicate being in the top 4%, but if 10% of students all scored a perfect score, the best you could do would be an 8 stanine (actually, I think that should be a 7, but whatever). I assume this was the survey CAT? With so few questions on the test, it is not a great test for breaking down statistically. It does let you know your student is doing just fine. A full battery test is more reliable and gives more accurate information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted May 22, 2013 Author Share Posted May 22, 2013 Okay, thank you! We weren't testing to find out anything, just for the experience of a standardized test so he'd understand what's expected during them (asking questions during appropriate times, not talking, stopping when told, waiting, filling in bubbles, etc.). So, I really didn't care at all what the scores were (which is why we went with CAT since it was cheapest), I was just confused about it. I get it now, thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 In first grade Melody got an 82nd percentile with a perfect score on one section. I laughed and said clearly that test was too easy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Different tests have different ceilings, especially in the lower grades. There was one subtest on the 1st grade SAT-10 where a perfect score was only something like the 60%-which lowered my DD's overall % rank on that section overall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilaclady Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 This is the reason why I don't like the CAT. I usually give it for the same reason as the op, to get my early elementary kids used to testing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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