section one

What is a Stanine Score?

Stanine scores (short for “Standard Nine”) are standardised 1-9 scores commonly used in psychometric testing. Stanine scores allow psychometricians to convert rather abstract scores into more interpretable numbers, with a score of 5 representing the average performance.

1:02 Lead consultant, Ben Schwencke, explains what a stanine score is.

As with other standardised scores, they are based on the average and distribution of scores for a specific population.

When using Stanine scores, scores between 1-3 are typically considered to be “low” scores, scores between 4-6 are often considered the “average” range, and scores 7-9 are considered “high” scores.

Technically, Stanine scores theoretically can range from negative infinity to positive infinity, but the vast majority of data points in a normally distributed dataset will fall between 1-9. Traditionally, Stanine scores are reported as whole numbers rather than decimals.

Stanine scores are similar to percentiles, which are also used to report scores in a standardized way. Percentiles divide the distribution of scores into 100 parts, while Stanine scores divide the distribution of scores into 9 parts. By definition, the average Stanine score is 5, which is analogous to a percentile rank of 50. Stanine scores can be useful for setting broad pass marks or cut-scores, and are commonly used in educational and psychological testing.

Follow me for regular expert insights

Stay updated with my latest tips, insights, and advice to help you stay ahead in your industry.