Ohio Assessments for Educators (OAE) Assessment of Professional Knowledge Practice Exam

What is a scaled score based on?

1. Normal distribution in standard deviation units

2. Raw score comparisons among test-takers

3. Student's personal performance history

4. Percentage of correct answers only

The correct answer is: Normal distribution in standard deviation units

A scaled score is derived from the normal distribution, which allows comparisons of individual scores in relation to a broader group. This process involves converting raw scores into standardized scores using statistical methods that relate to the distribution of scores across the entire test-taker population. By utilizing the concept of standard deviation, scaled scores can be interpreted in terms of how far a student’s performance deviates from the mean score of the group, making them useful for assessing relative performance levels. The other options do not accurately describe the basis of a scaled score. While raw score comparisons among test-takers can provide some insights, they do not account for variations in test difficulty or distribution. A student’s individual performance history may influence their raw scores but is not a factor in calculating scaled scores. Similarly, relying only on the percentage of correct answers does not account for differences in test difficulty and does not translate into the standardization found in scaled scores.