What are Scaled Scores?

Commencing in 2022, BCRSP examination score reports will be changing. Unsuccessful candidates will receive a performance report with a scaled score, and successful candidates will receive a pass notification only (no score). A scaled score is a representation of the total number of correct questions a candidate has answered (raw score) that has been converted to a consistent and standardized scale.

What are Scaled Scores?

A scale was developed for reporting purposes for BCRSP examinations. Regardless of the version of the exam that is administered, a candidate’s raw exam score is converted to a common measurement scale. In other words, a candidate’s raw score is transformed to a scaled score using a data analysis process called scaling. Scaling simply converts raw points from one scale to another through a linear transformation. In the same way that a given temperature can be expressed on either Fahrenheit or Celsius scales, or the same distance can be expressed in either miles or kilometers, candidate scores on BCRSP examinations can be expressed in raw or scaled scores. The standard formula of y = m(X) + b is used to transform the raw score to scale score units, where Y is the converted scale score, X is the candidate raw score, and m and b are constants for the scale. The passing score was set to 290 for each examination on a scale ranging from a minimum of 100 to a maximum of 450. For example, to be classified as passing the examination, a candidate must meet or exceed the scaled score of 290. Although different forms of the examination contain different sets of items, this conversion ensures that all candidates are treated fairly and evaluated against the same standard.

Angoff, W. (1971). Scales, norms and equivalent scores. In R. L. Thorndike (Ed.), Educational Measurement. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.