Exact score explanation
What a Rice Purity Test score of 13 means
13 = 100 − 87 checked
The short answer
A Rice Purity Test score of 13 means exactly 87 of the 100 items on the checklist were checked, leaving 13 unchecked. That works out to 87% of the checklist checked and 13% unchecked, because the checklist happens to hold exactly 100 items.
The result sits in the 56–91 checked band (most items checked), which covers scores 9–44. The band is a navigation aid for this scale — it is not a percentile, a population comparison, or a statement about the person who took the test.
Score 13 at a glance
| Score | 13 out of 100 |
|---|---|
| Items checked | 87 items |
| Items left unchecked | 13 |
| Share of checklist checked | 87% |
| Descriptive band | 56–91 checked · Most items checked |
| Scores sharing this band | 9–44 (36 scores) |
| Formula | 100 − 87 = 13 |
Score position
This scale shows the score itself, not a population distribution or percentile.
13
Score
87
Items checked
56–91 checked
Descriptive band
Exact calculation: 100 − 87 = 13
Where 13 sits between the bands
Between 56 and 91 of the 100 items were checked. The largest single category on the checklist holds 56 items, so any checked count above 56 — that is, any score below 44 — mathematically has to draw on more than one category.
- 32 fewer checked items would raise the score to 45 and move it into the 24–55 checked band.
- 5 more checked items would lower the score to 8 and move it into the 92–100 checked band.
Why 13 cannot identify your answers
Choosing which 87 of 100 items to check can be done in about 7.11 × 10^15 different ways, and every one of them totals 13. The score is a cardinality — a count — so it discards which items were selected the moment it is calculated.
For the same reason the total cannot show the context behind an answer, distinguish "no" from "preferred not to answer", or say anything definitive about a person's character, health, or safety.
How 87 checked items maps onto the checklist
The 100 items are grouped into five categories: Sexual (56), Social & Dating (15), Substances (14), Legal (11) and Academic (4). Those fixed sizes make some arithmetic statements about a total provable.
Minimum categories involved: Four. 87 checked items cannot fit inside the three largest categories, so a score of 13 mathematically requires checked items from at least four of the five categories.
One possible distribution: every Academic item (4), every Legal item (11), every Substances item (14), every Social & Dating item (15) plus 43 of the Sexual items. That is an illustration of the arithmetic only — many other distributions give the identical total of 13, and this site never sees which items anyone checked.
Questions about a score of 13
What does a Rice Purity Test score of 13 mean?
How many questions did I answer yes to if I scored 13?
Is 13 a good Rice Purity Test score?
Which questions produce a Rice Purity Test score of 13?
How the score is calculated
The formula, worked examples, and all six descriptive bands.
Methodology and sources
What is saved locally, what is claimed, and the limits of interpretation.
See all 100 questions
Review the current question set without changing saved test progress.
Take or retake the test
Open the interactive checklist and calculate a score from your own answers.