Scaled Scores vs. Raw Scores: What’s the Difference?
When your child receives a standardized test score report, the score is almost always a scaled score, not the raw number of questions they answered correctly. Understanding the difference helps you read score reports accurately.
Raw Scores
A raw score is simply the number of questions answered correctly (or the number of points earned on a test). If a math section has 40 questions and your child answers 30 correctly, their raw score is 30. Raw scores are rarely reported directly on standardized test reports because they are difficult to compare across different test versions and administrations.
Scaled Scores
A scaled score is a raw score that has been mathematically transformed onto a consistent reporting scale. The purpose of scaling is to make scores comparable across different test forms and different administrations. An October test might be slightly harder than a May test; scaling adjusts for this so that a 220 in October means the same thing as a 220 in May.
Each test uses its own scale:
| Test | Scaled Score Range |
|---|---|
| SAT | 400–1600 (total); 200–800 (each section) |
| ACT | 1–36 (composite) |
| NWEA MAP | ~140–300 (RIT scale) |
| STAR Reading | 0–1400 |
| SBAC | ~2114–2623 (varies by grade) |
Because different tests use different scales, you cannot meaningfully compare scaled scores across different assessments. A 700 on the SAT Math section does not tell you anything about how a 700 on a STAR assessment would compare — they are different scales entirely.
Standard Scores
Some score reports — particularly from psychological or cognitive evaluations — report a standard score with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. On this scale, 85–115 is roughly average, below 70 is significantly below average, and above 130 is significantly above average. This scale is common for IQ tests, processing speed assessments, and some neuropsychological evaluations.
Why This Matters Practically
When comparing your child’s scores over time, make sure you are comparing scores from the same test on the same scale. Comparing a fall STAR scaled score to a spring MAP RIT score tells you nothing useful. The only valid longitudinal comparisons are within the same assessment. For more on growth, see RIT Scores and MAP Growth.