What is the implication of a percentile rank of 85?

A percentile rank indicates the relative standing of a score among a group of scores. When a subject has a percentile rank of 85, it means that the individual's score is higher than that of 85% of the test-takers. This positioning shows that the subject performed better than a significant majority, suggesting a strong performance relative to peers.

This concept is essential in understanding standardized testing and evaluation metrics, as it helps to contextualize an individual's score within a larger population. High percentile ranks are often associated with above-average performance, which can have positive implications in various settings, such as academic assessments or professional evaluations.

On the contrary, a percentile rank of 85 does not indicate that the subject scored lower than 85% of test-takers, that their score is exactly 85, or that they are in the average range of scores. Instead, it specifically confirms the strength of their performance in comparison to others, reinforcing that they belong to the upper echelon of test-takers.