How do stanines relate to standard deviations?

Stanines are a nine-point scale used to interpret standardized test scores, where each unit represents a specific range of scores. The key feature of stanines is that they have a mean of 5, which corresponds to the 50th percentile of the distribution. Additionally, each stanine unit generally represents about half of a standard deviation. This means that scores close to the mean (stanines 4, 5, and 6) indicate average performance, while stanines further from the mean indicate below or above average performance, respectively.

In this context, understanding that stanines provide a framework for interpreting how individual scores relate to the overall distribution is important. By grouping scores into these nine categories, educators and psychologists can easily convey information about student performance in relation to their peers. This graded scale simplifies the complexity of standard deviations into a more intuitive format for assessment.