Do you know about different scores?
This week I visited a school to speak with lead teachers and the administrators about their interim test data. There are several data sources in the report that include I-Ready scores, DIBELS scores, and state non-standardized test scores. All of this data is collected three times per school year and put into one file.
When I prepare data in the data system, I generally convert percentile rank and percent correct scores into normal curve equivalent (NCE) scores. As I discussed the data with the group, I began to sense that they did not know what NCE scores were and then as I questioned further, some were not clear about the difference between percentile rank scores and percent correct.
The interpretation of scores is a critical understanding necessary for all teachers who use data to measure the learning performance of students and to identify students who are at-risk. We examined some students who were at the 45 NCE on the first test and then scored at the 30th NCE on the second interim test. While some students did better on the second test and the majority scored within a few NCE points on both tests. The decline of the 15 NCE point difference was substantial and significant at a practical level.
Readers may wish to review this information located on this website:
Learn about scores and the normal curve distribution of scores