Using AE Scores

Age-equivalent (AE) scores are one of the tests used for reporting performance on standardized tests. AE scores represent the mean or average score used for a normative sample for a particular age group. AE scores are used to assist Speech Language-Pathologists (SLPs) in explaining a client’s performance on a standardized test to parents and teachers. Scores are determined by the developers of norm standards who find the normative standards that indicate what the average scores are for relevant age groups by administering the tests to a representative sample group. The AE scores are often mandatory by local, state, and federal agencies for eligibility and funding purposes. The performance of the normative group is used to develop the normal distribution that serves as a standard of comparison with which test takers can be compared. SLPs use AE scores frequently, but they cannot give comparisons of clients to their peers or how their skills compare to peers.
AE scores do not take into consideration the range of normal performance for individuals whose scores fall within the average range. Rather, these scores represent the age at which a given raw score is average. Half of the examinees should receive a lower than average AE …show more content…
When two children earn the same AE score, the examiner cannot assume that the children responded the same way to the stimulus items on the test. Earning the same AE score simply means that these two children answered the same number of questions correctly. Although a 5-year-old and a 10-year-old may earn the same AE score, these two children may have approached the stimulus items differently. That is, they may have demonstrated varying performance patterns. It is likely that the younger child performed lower level work with greater consistency, reaching are a commonly used method of reporting test