MathCQ™ is a comparative performance indicator used in our assessment reports. It shows the performance of a target group (may be a candidate, a class or a school) comparing to all other candidates taking the same assessment. In brief, MathCQ™ is

(Group Average Mark/Average Mark of All Candidates)× 100%.

Value above 100% means that it is above average while below 100% implies that it is below average. The value is simple to be understood.

At first glance MathCQ™ is simple but it is actually far more complicated. As different schools have different teaching progress and their students have different ability, our assessments are often tailored to fit the situation of schools. In the same assessment, there are different versions of papers which have questions in common and questions specially made for that paper. We need to normalize the marks before making comparison. Behind MathCQ™, there is our self-developed algorithm to perform a non-linear and asymmetric normalization. The marks in the formula of MathCQ™ are normalized marks rather than raw marks.