What term describes the actual points scored by a person on a test or one of its scales?

The term that describes the actual points scored by a person on a test or one of its scales is "Raw Scores." Raw scores represent the direct output of a test, reflecting the number of items answered correctly or the total points accumulated. This measure provides the most straightforward indication of a test taker's performance without any adjustments for factors such as test difficulty or comparison to other test takers.

In contrast, standard scores convert raw scores into a common scale, allowing for comparison across different tests or scales. Percentile ranks, on the other hand, indicate the relative standing of a test taker's score compared to a norm group, representing the percentage of scores that fall below a given raw score. Variance measures the degree of spread or dispersion within a set of scores, but it does not provide information about individual test performance. Therefore, raw scores serve as the foundational data point for further analysis and interpretation in testing contexts.