Rice Purity Test Score Meaning
Rice Purity Test scores run from 0 to 100. Higher scores mean fewer life experiences checked on the test. Lower scores mean more. This page breaks down exactly what each score range means, how you compare to average scores by age group, and why scores tend to cluster in unexpected ways.
Almost nothing on the list applies to you. Fewer than three boxes ticked out of a hundred. This range is common among younger teenagers and people who haven't been in a relationship yet. That's not a judgement on where you are. These experiences simply haven't happened yet, and the test only measures whether they have. Not whether they should.
The early chapters. You've probably held hands, been on a date, maybe had a first kiss. A few social experiences ticked but nothing far from the surface. Most people who take the test for the first time at 15 or 16 land somewhere in this range. It shifts as you get older.
Dating, kissing, maybe some drinking. This is where a lot of sixth-formers and early uni students sit. You've got some stories but the list is still mostly untouched. Think first relationship territory. Most of the boxes you've ticked are in the social and dating categories. The further down the list you go, the less familiar it probably looks.
This is the average range for uni-age people between 18 and 22. If you've been through freshers and a couple of years of university life, landing here is completely normal. You've probably ticked boxes across several categories. Social, romantic, substance, maybe sexual experiences. Worth noting that two people with the exact same score could have very different boxes ticked. Someone scoring 58 might have more relationship experience. Another person at 58 might have more party experience. Same number, different lives.
A lot of the test's statements apply to you. This range is common among people in their mid-twenties and older who've accumulated experiences over time. It doesn't say anything about character. It means that when you went through a hundred statements about life experiences, most of them were familiar. For many people in this range, the unticked boxes tend to be the more extreme items near the end of the list.
Nearly everything on the list checked. Ninety-two or more out of a hundred statements apply to you. These scores are rare regardless of age. Whether that happened across decades or a few intense years, you've covered almost every experience the test asks about. The handful of unchecked boxes are usually the most extreme items on the list.
What Is the Average Rice Purity Test Score?
The average Rice Purity Test score for university-age people (18 to 22) falls between 50 and 65. One large survey of over a thousand people found a mean of 55.56. A separate study found 61.7. The gap depends on who's answering. As a rough guide, scores drop by about 1 point for every year older you get.
| Age Group | Typical Score Range | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 13 to 15 (secondary school) | 80 to 95 | Most haven't had significant relationship experience yet |
| 16 to 18 (sixth form) | 65 to 85 | Wide variance. Some score as low as 30, others above 95 |
| 18 to 22 (uni) | 50 to 70 | Survey mean sits around 55. Where most first-time test-takers land |
| 23 to 30 (post-uni) | 45 to 55 | Young adult survey mean: 55.36 |
| 30 to 40 (working age) | 35 to 50 | Adult survey mean: 48.91 |
| 40+ | 15 to 40 | Scores as low as 4 or 5 aren't unusual after a full life |
These are approximate ranges from aggregate quiz-taker data. Scores vary enormously between individuals. At age 16 alone, reported scores range from 16 to 98. Cultural background, social environment, personality, and personal values all play a role. Two people of the same age can have completely different scores.
What Influences Your Score
The biggest predictor isn't age. It's how long you've lived independently. Survey data shows people who've never moved out from their parents average 72. That drops to 37 for those with ten or more years of independent living. Other patterns from the data: women score roughly 7 points lower than men on average, asexual people average 80, bisexual people average 50, and extroverts score about 13 points lower than introverts. Education level follows a similar pattern. High school students average 66, while people with doctoral degrees average 44. That gap likely reflects age and independence more than education itself.
Why Do Rice Purity Scores Drop So Sharply?
Rice Purity scores don't follow a smooth bell curve. They cluster in two peaks. One sits around 80 to 95 and the other around 35 to 55. In between, there's a gap. Relatively few people score in the 60 to 75 range.
The reason is structural. One serious relationship tends to tick off half the boxes on its own. Kissing, touching, dating, various sexual experiences all get checked at once. Survey data shows that people who haven't had sex average 85, while sexually active people average around 47. That's a 38-point cliff. Scores don't gently decline. They drop.
In a poll of 424 people, 44% scored between 81 and 100 but only 12% scored between 61 and 80. That narrow band is the valley between the two peaks. If your score "jumped" after your first relationship, that's why.
Few people score here
Based on 424 responses from a community poll.
Is a Higher or Lower Rice Purity Score Better?
Neither. The Rice Purity Test isn't a moral assessment. Higher doesn't mean better and lower doesn't mean worse. It's a snapshot of experience at one point in time. Scores naturally decrease as people age and accumulate more life experiences. That's normal.
Some websites describe low scores as indicating mental disorders or criminal tendencies. This is nonsense. A score of 20 means roughly 80 of the test's statements apply to you. Nothing more.
And a high score doesn't mean you're "behind" or missing out. It means fewer of these specific statements apply to you right now.
Haven't Taken the Test Yet?
If you haven't taken the test yet, take the Rice Purity Test. Takes about 3 to 5 minutes.
Not sure what some of the questions meant? Review all 100 questions with explanations for every confusing term.