An HSPT score report has more numbers on it than most parents expect. They all describe the same performance from different angles. Here is what each one means, and which ones schools actually look at.
Raw score
Every section starts as a raw score: the number of questions answered correctly. Wrong answers and blanks both count zero, so there is no penalty for guessing. Raw scores are not usually printed on the family's report and are not comparable across sections, because the sections have different lengths.
Standard score (200–800)
Scholastic Testing Service converts each raw score to a standard score on a scale from 200 to 800, with 500 as the national average. The scale is the same for every section and composite, which lets you compare a Reading result with a Mathematics result even though one has 62 questions and the other 64.
The conversion tables are STS's own and are not published, so there is no reliable way to turn a practice-test raw score into an official standard score. Any site that does so is estimating.
National percentile rank
The national percentile rank (NPR) tells you what percentage of 8th graders nationally scored below your child. A 68th percentile means better than 68 percent of test-takers. Percentiles run from 1 to 99, and this is the number most admissions offices quote when they describe their applicants.
Two cautions:
- Percentiles are not points. The gap between the 50th and 60th percentile is a few questions; the gap between the 90th and 99th is also a few questions, but they are much harder to get.
- A percentile is relative to the group that took the test. The HSPT population is already skewed toward students applying to selective Catholic schools, so a 50th percentile is a solid middle-of-the-pack result among a strong group.
Local percentile rank
The local percentile rank (LPR) compares your child with students in the same diocese, or sometimes the same group of schools, rather than the whole country. A student can be at the 70th percentile nationally and the 55th locally in a competitive diocese. Schools tend to care more about the local number because it describes the applicant pool they are actually choosing from.
Stanine (1–9)
A stanine ("standard nine") collapses the percentile into a single digit from 1 to 9. Stanine 5 is the middle band, roughly the 40th to 59th percentile. Stanines 7, 8, and 9 are above average; 1, 2, and 3 are below. Stanines are a quick way to read a report, and some schools set placement cut-offs by stanine, for example "stanine 7 or higher in Mathematics for honors math."
| Stanine | Approximate percentile range |
|---|---|
| 9 | 96–99 |
| 8 | 89–95 |
| 7 | 77–88 |
| 6 | 60–76 |
| 5 | 40–59 |
| 4 | 23–39 |
| 3 | 11–22 |
| 2 | 4–10 |
| 1 | 1–3 |
Cognitive Skills Quotient (CSQ)
The CSQ is the report's most misunderstood number. It is derived from the Verbal Skills and Quantitative Skills sections together with the student's age, and it is scaled like an IQ score with an average of 100. It is meant to estimate learning potential, not what a student has been taught. It is not an IQ test result, and most schools give it little or no weight in admissions. We cover it in detail in the CSQ explained.
Composite scores
The report rolls sections into three composites, each with its own standard score, percentiles, and stanine:
- Total Cognitive Skills — Verbal Skills + Quantitative Skills. Reasoning ability.
- Total Basic Skills — Reading + Mathematics + Language. Achievement in taught subjects.
- Battery Composite — all five sections. The overall number.
The battery composite percentile is the one to remember. Scholarship committees and honors programs most often set their thresholds on it. The section percentiles matter for placement into specific courses.
Reading a report in three steps
- Look at the battery composite national percentile first. That is the headline.
- Compare the two totals. A much higher Cognitive than Basic score suggests a student who reasons well but has gaps in taught material, which is fixable with practice. The reverse pattern is less common and usually reflects a rushed test.
- Find the lowest section. That is where placement decisions will bite and where a few weeks of targeted practice pays off the most.
What the report will not tell you
The report does not say how a school will use it. Each Catholic high school sets its own cut-offs for admission, honors, and merit aid, and many do not publish them. When you get the report, call the admissions office and ask directly how their honors placement and scholarship decisions relate to HSPT percentiles. They hear the question constantly and are usually straightforward.