Hey guys, I've been seeing the term 'decile' used in reference to class ranks, but I'm not exactly sure what it means. Can someone help me understand what decile means in the context of class rank and how it's different from percentile?
Hello! A decile in the context of class ranking refers to dividing a class into ten equal parts, with each part representing 10% of the class. When you hear someone mention that they are, for example, in the top decile, it means that they are ranked within the top 10% of their high school class (the first decile). Similarly, if a student is in the second decile, they fall into the range of the top 11% to 20% of their class, and so on.
On the other hand, a percentile refers to the percentage of students ranked below an individual student in a graded distribution. For example, if a student is in the 95th percentile, that means 95% of students in the class have a lower class rank, and they are part of the top 5%.
In summary, a decile divides students into ten equal groups based on their rankings, while a percentile denotes the exact percentage of students that have a lower ranking. Deciles provide a more general sense of where you stand in your class, whereas percentiles offer more specificity in where a student ranks in relation to their peers. I hope this explanation clears up your confusion!
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