Grade-equivalent scales - American Education

A somewhat controversial measurement system that converts raw test scores into a numerical school-grade achievement level. Thus, if the average score of students beginning the sixth grade on a test of 100 questions is 70, any score of 70 would be recorded as 6.0. Any student scoring 70, whether in the fourth, sixth, tenth or any other grade, would still receive a grade-equivalent score of 6.0.
Similar in concept to age-equivalent scales, grade-equivalent scales can easily be misused or misinterpreted. For example, gifted students might score below appropriate grade levels on a test if, for whatever reason, they have not had access to the information required for that test. Similarly, slower students with a specific fund of information might obtain inappropriately high scores on a test but not be able to function at that grade level on a sustainable basis.