Lecture Notes 21:

DESCRIBING INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE

 Scores directly obtained from the test are known as actual scores or raw scores
 Such scores cannot be interpreted as whether the score is low, average or high
 Scores must be converted or transformed so that they become meaningful and allow some kind
of interpretations and direct comparisons of two scores
 Types of Standard Score

1. Z-scores
2. T-scores
3. Standard nine or stanine
4. Percentile rank

Z-SCORES:

Is used to convert a raw score to standard score to determine how far a raw score lies from the
mean in standard deviation units
Z-value is positive when the raw score is above the mean
Z-value is negative when the raw score is below the mean
Is very essential when we compare the performance of the student in his subjects or the
performance of two students that belong to different groups
Formula

̅
Z =

Where: z = z-value
x = raw score
̅ = mean
s = standard deviation

Example:
Using the data about Fe Incio’s scores in Business Calculus and Production Management,
solve the z-score value.

BUSINESS CALCULUS PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT

x = 92 x = 88
̅ = 95 ̅ = 80
s = 3 s = 4

Answer:

z-score of Business Calculus

z = = -1
 z-score of Production Management

z = = +2

Analysis:
The score of Fe Incio in Business Calculus is one unit standard deviation
below the mean. Her score in Production Management is two units
standard deviation above the mean. Therefore, we can conclude that Fe
Incio performed better in Production Management than in Business
calculus.

T-scores

 Enables you to take an individual score and transform it into a standardized form , one which
helps you to compare scores
 A score of 50 represents the mean
 A difference of 10 from the mean indicates a difference of one standard deviation
 Thus a score of 60 is one standard deviation above the mean, while a score of 30 is two standard
deviations below the mean
 When to use T-score

a. Sample size below 30

b. Unknown population standard deviation

 Formula: T-score = 10z + 50

Example:
From the above example, z-score of Business Calculus is -1 and z-score of Production
Management is +2, solve the T-score equivalent.

Solution:

For Business Calculus:

T-score = 10( -1) + 50 = -10 + 50 = 40

For Production Management:

T-score = 10(2) + 50 = 20 + 50 = 70

Analysis:
Fe Incio performed better in Production Management than in Business Calculus due to
higher value of T-score which is equal to 70.

Standard Nine or Stanine

 Is a nine point grading scale ranging from 1 to 9, 1 being the lowest and 9 the highest
  Used to compare two or more distributions of data, particularly test scores
 Has a mean of 5 and a standard deviation of 2
 What do Stanines mean?

 A person with a score of 9 is in the top 4% of the scorers, while a person with a score of
1 is in the bottom 4%

 How to Convert a Score to a Stanine

 Rank the scores from lowest to highest

 Assign a stanine score to your scores

 If z-score is known, use the formula: Stanine Score (SS) = 2z + 5 or use the table below

STANINE SCORE PERCENTAGE OF SCORES Z-score Description

1 bottom 4% below - 1.75 very poor

2 next bottom 7% - 1.75 to - 1.25 poor
3 next bottom 12% - 1.25 to - 0.75 below average
4 next bottom 17% - 0.75 to - 0.25 slightly below average
5 middle 20% - 0.25 to 0.25 average
6 next top 17% 0.25 to 0.75 slightly above average
7 next top 12% 0.75 to 1.25 considerably above average
8 next top 7% 1.25 to 1.75 superior
9 top 4% 1.75 and above very superior

Percentile Rank

 Indicates the percentage of scores that lies below a given score

 For example, if you score in the 25th percentile, then 25% of test takers are below your score