How to calculate the comprehensive score
About this article: It explains what the average composite score means for ranking questions and how it is calculated, so you can read your statistics correctly.
Overview
For surveys or quizzes that include ranking questions, the system can compute an average composite score for each option from all respondents’ rankings. This score reflects each option’s overall ranking tendency: a higher score means the option was placed in higher ranks more often.
Formula
The average composite score for an option is:
Average composite score = (Σ frequency × weight) ÷ number of respondents for this question
Where:
- Frequency: how many times the option was assigned a given rank position.
- Weight: determined by the rank position in each response (see next section).
- Number of respondents: total valid completions for this ranking question.
How weights are assigned
Weights match the number of options in the ranking set:
1. If there are n options to rank, then in a single response the option ranked 1st has weight n, 2nd has n − 1, and so on, down to weight 1 for the last position.
2. Example with 3 options: 1st place weight 3, 2nd place 2, 3rd place 1.
Worked example
Suppose a ranking question has options A, B, and C, and the question was answered 12 times. Option A was ranked as follows:
- 1st place: 2 times
- 2nd place: 4 times
- 3rd place: 6 times
Then A’s average composite score is:
(2 × 3 + 4 × 2 + 6 × 1) ÷ 12 = 28 ÷ 12 ≈ 1.67
Important details
1. Scores depend on how many options are ranked. More options mean a higher weight for 1st place (e.g. 3 options → weight 3 for 1st; 30 options → weight 30 for 1st). Do not compare raw scores across questions with different option counts without context.
2. This weighting is not changed by prompts such as “rank only * items”; weights are still based on the full set of options in that ranking question.
3. If ranking options are pulled from a prior multiple-choice question, the weight for 1st place is typically equal to the number of choices in that multiple-choice question. Confirm with your product’s own analytics documentation if needed.
FAQs
Is this a 0–100 score?
No. The scale depends on how many options are ranked. Use it to compare options within the same question.
Why are two options’ scores very close?
Their rank distributions are similar—neither dominates the top ranks.
Can I compare scores across different surveys?
If option counts or setups differ, avoid direct comparison of absolute values; compare ranks inside each question instead.
Important Notes
- Average composite score = sum of (frequency at each rank × that rank’s weight) ÷ number of respondents.
- With n options, weights run from n (1st) down to 1 (last).
- Interpret and compare scores within the same ranking question.
