What Is 10th Percentile?

A 10th percentile is a term that is used within statistics and statistical analysis.

• What does 10th percentile mean?

You will notice that the word correlates with the word percentage which is apt because it is linked to percentages. Basically, the function of a percentile is to be able to identify a certain number, value or score that has been rated under a certain percentage. For example, in this case a 10th percentile would be a figure that represents data below 10 per cent of the original findings.

• What is percentile used for?

You may have heard the term being used every now and again because it is almost always used when considering statistics. When figures have been accumulated representing a certain issue such as exam results in schools or the amount of people that own cars compared to the amount that do not, a percentile is calculated. It is able to represent a range and identify a particular part of that range. With regards to exam results, there will be a section that will depict how many students scored an A on average, and that will be within a certain percentile.

• How to work out a percentile

There is an equation that must be carried out in order to discover the percentile of a certain range of data. This can be quite complicated so make sure that you carry out the calculation carefully. The equation itself can be written down as R = p(N+1). The R in this instance is the rank position of where the figure within the data is. The p represents the percentile and the N is the sum of the data points displayed. Once you have completed the equation stated above you will be able to find out the answer to any form of percentile.