Age equivalent

Some assessment reports translate a score into an age, so you might read that your ten year old is 'working at the level of a 6 year 2 month old'. A sentence like that lands hard, and it is worth knowing how weak the number behind it is.

Age equivalents are worked out by matching your child's raw score to the average Descriptive range The words a report uses to sum up a score, like 'average' or 'extremely low'. Tests draw these bands in their own places, so the same word can mean different scores. Read the full definition of Descriptive range score of children at each age. The steps between ages are not even, so a difference of one or two answers can swing the age by years. Test publishers and psychologists discourage relying on them for exactly this reason.

An age equivalent also does not mean your child is like a younger child. A ten year old with a reading age Reading age A reading age says your child read a test the way an average child of that age would. It is a rough guide, not a full picture. Read the full definition of Reading age of six is not a six year old: they have ten years of experience, understanding and personality.

If a report leans on age equivalents, it is fair to ask for the standard score Standardised score A test result turned into a number you can compare with other children of the same age. On most tests 100 is the middle, and 85 to 115 is the typical range. Read the full definition of Standardised score and centile Centile A number that shows where your child sits among 100 children of the same age. The 9th centile does not mean 9 out of 100 in a test, it means about 9 in 100 children score lower. Read the full definition of Centile instead. Those numbers say how your child compares with children their own age, which is what decisions should rest on.