Ask an Expert: Jim Cox and Pat Puleo
Measuring Up: A Parent's Guide to Testing, Grades, and Assessments

In my first-grade daughter's SAT-9 test report, her math problem solving score is at the 99th percentile (NPR), but her math procedure score is at the 78th. What is included in math procedure, and what should I do to improve her score there?

Math procedure for first grade includes basic number facts, such as addition and subtraction of whole numbers, and understanding and using plus and minus signs. As for what you should do, you don't need to do anything. First, it's important to know that when first graders take the SAT-9, their scores can fluctuate a lot over just a few days. This is called the margin of error, and it's quite wide for young children.

Second, if your daughter scored at the 99th percentile in problem solving, she has a good grasp of the concepts. The percentile tells you how she compared to other students. It is not a percentage of the number of question she answered correctly. (The section of your results called "r.s." tells you your daughter's raw score, or the number of correct answers.) The difference between the number of problems that she answered correctly in each section may be very small. For example, in first grade, the problem solving portion of the test has 44 problems. To be at the 99th percentile in problem solving, a child would need to correctly answer 42 out of 44. To be at 78th percentile, the child would get 37 out of 44 right. The procedures portion of the test has 25 problems. Twenty-four out of 25 correct answers puts the child at the 99th percentile; 20 out of 25 puts her at the 78th.

Given the margin of error and the fact that these are first graders, such differences are unimportant. The real indicator of your daughter's performance is how she does in her day-to-day work.

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