Which tests report a percentile?
Tests with a matching published norm (Task Switching Test and Operation Span), and any test whose age band has a platform norm. Each result with a percentile names the norm it was compared with.
Norms and percentiles
Percentiles from published norms
When a published study gave a test the same way, ConductCognition compares a participant's main score with that norm for their age band and reports a z-score and a percentile. Platform norms, built from standard sessions, extend percentiles to more tests and age bands. Every test reports its scores and quality flags.
What a literature norm is
A literature norm is the mean and standard deviation of scores that a published study reported for a test, for each age band. ConductCognition places the participant's score on that distribution and reports how many standard deviations it lies from the mean (the z-score) and the matching percentile of a normal distribution.
Scores are signed so that a higher percentile always means better performance. A reaction time faster than the norm's mean gets a percentile above 50.
Tests that report a percentile
Each row names the score compared with the norm, the published study, its sample size and the age bands a percentile can be reported for.
| Test | Score compared | Published norm | Sample | Ages with a percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task Switching Test | Switch Cost RT (ms)Lower is better | Eich et al. (2023) | 246 | 18 to 29, 60 to 69 |
| Operation Span | Partial Span Score (count)Higher is better | Unsworth, Heitz, Schrock & Engle (2005) | 252 | 18 to 29 |
Each published study used its own version of the task, so treat a percentile as a reference point for research, not as a clinical score.
When a percentile appears
A session gets a percentile only when all of these are true:
- The test ran with its standard settings. Changing a setting keeps the scores but removes the percentile.
- The participant gave their age, and a norm covers their age band.
- The device check passed for norms: a desktop or laptop with a mouse or trackpad, in Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
- The session has no quality warnings, such as a screen smaller than 1280 by 800 pixels, a switch to another tab, an omitted response or a response faster than 100 ms.
- The study is on a paid plan or is a pay-as-you-go study.
When a percentile is withheld, the result page gives the reason, and the session's scores are kept. The Study Quality Monitor shows which sessions had warnings.
Platform norms
A percentile can also come from ConductCognition's own sessions. The rule is fixed in the scoring code: an age band of a test needs at least 50 valid sessions, run with standard settings on a supported device and scored with the current scoring version, before a platform norm replaces the literature norm for that band. Sessions from studies of a clinical or patient sample do not count. Tests built on words, such as verbal fluency and word-list recall, keep a separate platform norm for each participant language. Each result with a percentile shows the age band and sample size of the norm it was compared with.
Questions about norms
Why does a result show no percentile?
One of the conditions was not met: changed settings, no age, a device or quality warning, an age band the norm does not cover, or a study whose plan does not include percentiles. The result page states the reason.
Is a higher percentile always better?
Yes. For scores where lower is better, such as reaction time or completion time, a lower score gives a higher percentile, so a higher percentile always means better performance than the norm sample.
Are percentiles included on the free plan?
Yes. Studies on the free plan are pay as you go, and they show percentiles for the tests listed on this page, as every yearly plan does.
Is a percentile a clinical score?
No. A percentile shows where a score falls in a published research sample, given with a different version of the task. Use it as a reference point for research.
What is a platform norm?
A norm built from ConductCognition's own sessions. An age band of a test needs at least 50 valid sessions, run with standard settings on a supported device and scored with the current scoring version, before a platform norm replaces the literature norm for that band. Sessions from clinical or patient samples do not count, and tests built on words keep a separate norm for each participant language.
How each test is scored: automated scoring. What percentiles cost: pricing.
Run a test with norms
Start free and preview any test. Percentiles come with paid plans and pay-as-you-go studies.