stanine
n. a method of scaling scores on a point scale that ranges from a low of 1 to a high of 9, with a mean of 5 and a standard deviation of 2. A stanine is a standard ninth, referring to the interval used in dividing the results into nine approximately equal parts. A stanine score of 1, 2, or 3 is below average; 4, 5, or 6 is average; and 7, 8, or 9 is above average. A stanine is a type of standardized score and is mainly used with school achievement tests.