ISEE: percentile and stanine
The ISEE compares each student with other applicants in the same grade over the last three years. A percentile of 70 means scoring higher than 70% of them. The stanine groups percentiles into 9 bands: 1-3 below average, 4-6 average, 7-9 above average. Many competitive schools look for stanines of 6 or 7 and up.
We estimate a percentile from the share of questions right, assuming that about 62% right sits at the middle of the applicant pool, then convert it to a stanine with the standard bands.
| Stanine | Percentile |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1-3 |
| 2 | 4-10 |
| 3 | 11-22 |
| 4 | 23-39 |
| 5 | 40-59 |
| 6 | 60-76 |
| 7 | 77-88 |
| 8 | 89-95 |
| 9 | 96-99 |
SSAT: scaled score and percentile
The SSAT reports a scaled score for Verbal, Quantitative and Reading (Middle Level 440-710, Upper Level 500-800 each) and a percentile against other test takers of the same grade over the past three years.
We place the scaled score in proportion to the share right, and estimate the percentile the same way as for the ISEE.
SHSAT: composite
NYC Public Schools turns each section's answers into a scaled score and adds them into a composite, but doesn't publish how. We use a curve that puts about 85% right on both sections near recent Stuyvesant cut scores and 50% right near 400. Since the 2026 test is adaptive, a raw percentage on a fixed practice test is an even rougher guide than before.