Strategic StudentMy student grew. Why did their percentile drop?
Score reports hand you two percentiles that look identical and answer completely different questions. One says where your student stands. The other says how fast they're moving. Enter both and get a clear read on what each one really means. No PII. No login. Everything runs in your browser.
Enter the numbers from the score report
No PIIThe overall percentile on the most recent test, 1 to 99.
Leave it blank if you can't find it. We'll still read the first number.
Optional. Lets us explain any rise or drop in rank.
Tunes the read to the student's stage.
Your read will appear here
Enter the achievement percentile from the most recent test above. Add the growth percentile if the report shows one, and we'll read both numbers for you.
Where they are
Live, updates as you typeAchievement percentile: position compared with a national norm group, right now.
Two different instruments on purpose: growth is a speed, achievement is an altitude.
How fast they grew
Growth percentile: growth compared with students who started at the same score.
Growth percentile: 45thThe percentile drop, explained
Put together
How this works
An achievement percentile answers one question: at this moment, where does this score sit compared with a national norm group of students in the same grade? The 60th percentile means the student scored higher than about 60 of 100 students in that group. It's a photo of position, taken once.
A growth percentile, usually called a student growth percentile or SGP, answers a different question: compared with students who started at the same score, how much did this student grow? An SGP of 70 means they grew more than about 70 of 100 of their academic peers. Same 1 to 99 scale, completely different question. Roughly 35 to 65 counts as typical growth, 66 and up is high, 34 and below is lower than typical.
Both numbers are norm-referenced, meaning they compare a student to other students. Neither one is proficiency. Proficiency is a criterion set by your state, a fixed bar a student either clears or doesn't. A student can sit above the proficiency bar with low growth, or below it and climbing fast. Sources: RAND, Student Growth Percentiles 101; Clauser, Keller, and McDermott (2016); NWEA on RIT scores and percentiles.
Percentiles compare students to a norm group, never to their own potential. Use these numbers to ask better questions, not to label a learner.