A group of sixth-graders all 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% of applicants to qualify,which one of the following students definitely qualified for the spelling bee?
A) Aaron who placed in the 15th percentile
B) Barbara who spelled 80% of the words correctly
C) Connor who placed at the 90th percentile
D) Della who spelled 85 words correctly

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To qualify for the spelling bee, a student needs to score in the top 20% of applicants. Connor placed in the 90th percentile, which means he scored higher than 90% of the applicants. Therefore, he definitely qualified for the spelling bee. Aaron placed in the 15th percentile, which means he scored higher than only 15% of the applicants, and Barbara spelled 80% of the words correctly, but we do not know if that score puts her in the top 20%. Finally, we do not have information on how many words were on the test, so we cannot determine if Della's score puts her in the top 20%.

A Group of Sixth-Graders All Took a 100 Word Spelling