Which statement about standard scores is true?

• A. They convert raw scores into standard deviation units and typically account for age, gender, or grade in interpretation.
• B. They are raw scores with no transformation.
• C. They are identical to percentile ranks in all interpretations.
• D. They do not require any normative data.

Answer: (A)

Standard scores express a raw result as distance from the mean in standard deviation units on a predefined scale. This transformation relies on normative data, so the scores are interpreted relative to how a typical group of peers performed. Because the norms are often broken down by age or grade (and sometimes gender), the score reflects what is expected for someone at a specific developmental level, not just the absolute raw number. This common scaling makes it possible to compare performance across different tests or across ages.

Raw scores are simply the original tallies and don’t account for how the population behaves or develops, so they’re harder to compare across ages or tests. Percentile ranks describe a different kind of standing—the percentage of peers scoring below a given score—so they’re not the same as standard deviation–based units, even though you can sometimes convert between the two. And without normative data, you wouldn’t have a meaningful reference point for where the mean or the standard deviation comes from, so standard scores would not be interpretable.