Percentile Rank Calculator
Calculation Results
The score is at the:
th Percentile
How Do You Calculate Percentile?
A percentile rank tells you the percentage of scores in a distribution that are equal to or lower than a specific value. It is a vital statistical measure used in education, finance, and health to understand how a single data point compares to a larger group.
Calculating a percentile involves comparing an individual score against a sorted list of all scores in a dataset. If you are in the 90th percentile, it means you performed better than or equal to 90% of the participants.
The Percentile Formula
The most common method for calculating percentile rank (PR) is:
Where:
- L: The number of values in the dataset that are less than your score.
- N: The total number of values in the dataset.
Step-by-Step Example
Suppose a class of 10 students received the following test scores: 55, 60, 70, 75, 80, 82, 85, 90, 95, 98. You scored an 85. What is your percentile?
2. Count total number of scores: 10.
3. Apply formula: (6 / 10) × 100 = 60.
Result: You are in the 60th percentile.
Why Percentiles Matter
Standardized tests like the SAT or GRE use percentiles because raw scores vary by test difficulty. A score of 1400 might be the 95th percentile one year and the 93rd the next. Percentiles provide context, showing where you stand relative to your peers rather than just providing an absolute number.