A group of Grade 6 students took a 100-word spelling test in order to qualify for the city-wide spelling bee contest. If a child needed to score in the top 20 percent of applicants to qualify, which one of the following students definitely qualified for the spelling bee?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

In order to qualify for the spelling bee, a child needs to score in the top 20 percent of applicants. This means that out of 100 students, only the top 20 would qualify. Connor, who placed at the 90th percentile, performed better than 90 out of 100 students and is in the top 10 percent of applicants, thus qualifying for the spelling bee. Barbara spelled 80 percent of the words correctly, but we don't know how many words were in the test or how many students took the test. Aaron placed at the 15th percentile, meaning he performed worse than 85 percent of the other students and Della spelled only 85 out of 100 words correctly, which may not be enough to be in the top 20 percent.

A Group of Grade 6 Students Took a 100-Word Spelling