Talk:Stanine

Untitled
"Scores" as in hits upon a target, I presume? If so it needs clarifying in the text.

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No. It is normally scores as on a test. See Google.

Here is a description and some more info indicating that they were invented by the airforce:http://www.pballew.net/arithme3.html:
 * Stanine ratings are a nine point statistical scale. The word appears to have been created during WWII by someone in the Air Force where the idea was developed. The word was created as a shortened form of "Standard of Nine".


 * Here is a little more information about stanines from a posting by Lee Creighton of the Statistical Instruments Division of SAS Institute Inc. to the AP statistics discussion group.


 * Basically, the transformation from raw scores to stanine scores is pretty simple: (1)rank the scores from lowest to highest (2)assign the lowest four percent a stanine score of 1, the next 7 percent the stanine of 2, etc, according to the following table:
 * Percentage..4.......7......12......17......20......17......12.......7.......4
 * Stanine.....1.......2.......3.......4.......5.......6.......7.......8.......9
 * So, they are assigned on a scale from 1 to 9, but there are not necessarily the same percentage in each "bin". Someone in the 88th percentile would come in just at the top of the range for a stanine score of 7.


 * The reason this scale was developed was primarily to convert scores to a single digit number -- a considerable asset in the era when Hollerith punch cards were _de riguer_ in the computer industry. The score of a person could be coded in a single column on one of these cards.

Here: http://www.avca-sj.org/WINGS32.html is evidence that Stanines were being used in the Airforce as early as 1943:
 * October 13, 1943 to December 7, 1943
 * San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center, San Antonio, Texas.
 * Classification.


 * The purpose of classification was to determine, by a series of tests, your aptitude for pilot, navigator, bombardier, or GDO (ground duty only). SAACC belonged to the Central Flight Training Command. The East Coast and West Coast Commands had Nashville, Tenn. and Santa Ana, Cal. cadet classification centers respectively.  The tests consisted of the toughest Army physical (the 64); a two day long series of mental tests involving subjects like map reading, space visualization, numerical series, written comprehension and the like; and a psychomotor series of tests which checked physical coordination and performance under stress. The last day of testing consisted of an interview with a psychiatrist.  The results were called the "stanine", (for standard nine); a stanine of 9 was tops and a 1 was the bottom. It took a grade of 5, or better, to be considered for flight training.

Mike Friedman

AP Scoring
For the CollegeBoard AP exams, many essays on the various exams are assigned a grade of 1 to 9. Does anyone know if this is the stanine system? I have a feeling it is not, as I don't believe the tests are scored according to normal distribution. Theoretically, everyone taking the test could receive a 9 or a 1 as far as I know. smileyborg 14:48, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Air Force
The U.S. Air Force didn't exist as a separate entity until 1947. Could someone clairfy/check the reference to the Air Force possibly being the first organization to use stanine scores? Was the date wrong, or did the editor mean the Air Force branch of the Army? Dextrosity 02:40, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

The Standard Nine test was actually developed prior to World War II by the Army Air Corps as means of identifying suitable applicants for assignment to various skills, including aircrew duty. The term was shortened to "Stanine" by the Army. As for US Air Force, US Army Air Forces, etc. while the United States Air Force was not formally established until 1947, the term United States Air Force was used commonly throughout World War II. For example, Lt. Gen. Lewis Brerton used it throughout his diary. Stanine Test score requirements for pilots were very high, but they were relaxed for colored applicants since many were unable to achieve the necessary scores for admission to aviation cadets. SamMcGowan (talk) 19:00, 31 August 2010 (UTC)

Stanine spacing
The text states that the length of each stanine is 0.35 stdev (except the 1st and 9th) Running some number sin an spreedsheet shows this does not line up with the percentages given. To get something that looks like the percentages given it looks like a spacing of 0.5 stdev is needed. Can someone confirm this is the definition of a stanine. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.90.119.98 (talk) 16:46, 19 April 2010 (UTC)