The 10th edition of the Stanford Achievement Test reflects the more rigorous content developed at the national level in recent years, as educators strive to raise the bar for what children should learn in each grade. The math content, for example, meets standards set by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, while the language arts content meets standards set by the National Council of Teachers of English. As a test that is administered nationwide, the SAT 10 allows educators and parents to see how well their students understand each subject, and where they may need extra help.
While every state has its own set of tests to measure students' progress in each grade, each state's test is designed by a group of educators to test what they deem important. Direct comparisons cannot be made between students in different states. The Stanford Achievement Test, however, is given to students in many states. Comparing students' scores at the same grade reveals how well students in each district and state are learning compared to students in other areas, states and the national average.
The SAT 10 is an untimed test. The test doesn't measure how fast a student can answer, but whether he knows the answer. Educators and parents aren't left wondering whether their students know the material but couldn't answer in the time frame or simply became nervous because of the time constraint. Without a time element, officials and teachers have a clear picture of what students know and don't know.
Since the SAT 10 is a national test, it doesn't have the state and local focus that state tests have. While it's important for students to have knowledge of their state's history, geography and science, it's also important that they can put this knowledge in the context of national scope. The SAT 10 helps ensure that all students nationwide learn the history, geography and science material that educators have determined is essential. With the results of the SAT 10 in hand, educators and parents can see whether students have the well-rounded knowledge that is expected of them.
Reports that accompany students' scores include several methods of assessing their results. In addition to the scores, national and local percentile ranks, stanines, grade equivalents and normal curve equivalents are given in each report. These assessment types are not unique to the Stanford tests, but not all test designers give so many comparisons. For example, a student's percentile rank shows the percentage of students who scored above and below his score. Stanines divide all scores into nine levels, with five being the median point. Every student's score is given a single-digit stanine. The reports that go home to families also include brief explanations of what each comparison means.