2. Major Test Areas and Performance Scores
The subtests are identified here and are separated by major test areas. The student receives scores based on each subtest separately along with a total score for that part.
The first major test area is Cognitive Skills which is comprised of the Verbal Skills and Quantitative Skills subtests. The second major test area is Basic Skills which is comprised of the Reading, Language, and Mathematics subtests. Again, the student receives scores based on each subtest separately along with a total score for that part.
Schools have the option of administering one of three additional subtests (Science, Catholic Religion, or Mechanical Aptitude) reported in the section called Option. If no optional test was administered, this section will be blank.
The student’s Composite score is also reported here. The composite score indicates the student’s total performance on the five subtests (not including the optional test) that make up the entire HSPT® battery.
| Standard Score (SS) Raw scores (the number of correct answers) are converted to standard scores. Standard scores range from 200-800 with a score of 500 being exactly average. Standard scores are provided for all major test areas except the optional test. A raw score (RS) is provided instead for the optional test. |
||||||||||||
| National Percentile (NP) A national percentile compares your performance to students in a national sample. Percentiles range from 1-99 and compare your performance with other students within the same grade level. Your percentile rank indicates the percentage of students in the sample that had lower scores than you. Average performance ranges from 33-66, with a score of 50 being exactly average. In this example, Brian’s raw score on the Verbal subtest is equal to the 62nd national percentile, which means his raw score was higher than 62 percent of the students in the national sample. |
||||||||||||
| Grade Equivalent (GE) While National Percentile ranks compare your performance with students at the same grade level, Grade Equivalents compare your performance with the average performance of students at other grade levels. GE’s are provided for Reading, Language, and Math. The Grade Equivalent represents the grade level and month of the average performance for students. For example, an 8th grade student with a GE of 8.9 has earned a score similar to the average students’ scores who were in their ninth month of eighth grade. In this example, the 8th grade student had a Reading GE of 10.7. This means the student scored as well on eighth grade reading material as an average high school sophomore would have scored on the eighth grade reading material. As a parent, if you see “10.7” you might think your child is ready for 10th grade. But, remember your child was not tested on 10th grade material; he was tested on 8th grade material. His above grade level score indicates that he did better than the average 8th grader in the sample group did. If this student was given a reading test designed for use at the 10th grade level, it is very unlikely that he would attain a GE of 10.7. Therefore, the best way to interpret the GE score is to look at whether the student’s performance is average (a GE in grade level), above average (a GE above grade level), or below average (a GE below grade level). |
||||||||||||
| Cognitive Skills Quotient Cognitive Skills Quotient is a measure of a student’s learning potential. The CSQ functions as a predictive index of a student’s future academic performance. The following guide may be used to interpret your CSQ:
|