Understanding Differences Between Raw Scores and Scaled Scores

Overview

Some students may see a large difference between their raw score on a benchmark assessment and the scaled score shown in Derivita. This article explains why those differences can occur, why scaled scores are sometimes higher or lower than the raw percentage, and how to interpret the results with confidence.

How It Works

Derivita’s scaled score reports are designed to help educators understand how a student’s performance on a benchmark assessment relates to their likely performance on the end-of-course (EOC) test.

To do this, the system looks at:

• How students performed on each standard within the benchmark (not just the overall percentage)

• Which standards have historically been most predictive of EOC performance

• Patterns from prior years’ EOC results, where the score ranges and distribution differ from a typical benchmark

Instead of using a student’s raw percentage alone, the scaled score reflects the strength of performance across the standards, based on how those standards connected to EOC outcomes in prior years.

This approach allows teachers to see:

• When a student performed strongly on the standards that matter most for success

• When two students with similar raw percentages performed differently across standards

• When a low raw score still reflects promising performance on key standards

Why Raw and Scaled Scores Can Differ

Below are common reasons educators may see unexpected differences.

1. Benchmarks and EOC tests use different scoring scales

Benchmarks usually score from 0–100%.
Many state EOC exams use a different scale, often starting above 0 and clustering around certain score ranges.

This difference in scale means:

• A very low benchmark raw score will not map to a “near zero” EOC score.

• Students with low raw scores may appear higher on the scaled score because no students in historical EOC data scored extremely low, even when benchmark performance was low.

2. Scaled scores reflect performance across standards, not the overall percentage

The scaled score uses a student’s performance on each standard to create an overall prediction.
Two students with identical raw percentages may have very different results across the standards that matter most for predicting the EOC.

This means:

• Students who perform well on high-value standards may see a higher scaled score.

• Students who miss key standards may see a lower scaled score even with a solid raw percentage.

3. Students can reach the same scaled score through different patterns of performance

It is common for:

• Students with different raw scores to have the same scaled score

• Students with the same raw score to have different scaled scores

This happens because the score reflects which standards students showed strength in—not just how many points they earned.

4. Strength on specific standards can outweigh low performance elsewhere

A student who answers fewer questions correctly may still perform strongly on:

• Standards identified as highly predictive of EOC success

• Standards that historically show the biggest differences between higher-scoring and lower-scoring students

When this occurs, their scaled score may appear higher than expected.

Example Scenario

Two students both scored below 60% on a midyear benchmark. One student’s scaled score remains close to their raw score, while the other jumps significantly.

This could occur because:

• The second student excelled on the most predictive standards.

• Their pattern of correct responses matched the performance of students who historically scored much higher on the EOC.

• Benchmark raw percentages do not reflect the same scale or distribution as the EOC.

This does not indicate an error; it reflects differences in which skills students demonstrated.

FAQ or Troubleshooting

Q: Why doesn’t the scaled score match the raw score?
A: Scaled scores reflect how a student performed across the standards, compared to prior EOC results—not the raw percentage alone.

Q: Why can a student with a low raw score receive a high scaled score?
A: If a student performs strongly on the standards historically most connected to EOC success, their scaled score may be higher than the raw percentage suggests.

Q: Why do two students with the same raw percentage have different scaled scores?
A: They likely performed differently on key standards, and scaled scores emphasize those patterns.

Q: Is this a curve?
A: No. Scaled scores reflect historical EOC performance patterns, not a curve applied to the class.