Which of the following describes percentile scores?

Percentile scores indicate relative performance compared to a standard, which is the hallmark of how percentiles function in statistical evaluation. A percentile score expresses the percentage of scores in a distribution that fall below a particular score. For example, if a student scores in the 75th percentile, it means they performed better than 75% of their peers. This relative measure allows for comparisons across different sets of data and helps users understand where a particular score stands within a broader context.

In contrast, direct measures of ability generally refer to specific assessments that gauge individual skills or competencies without necessarily comparing them to a broader population, which is not what percentile scores do. Percentiles apply across various distributions, not just skewed ones, and while they may provide insight into variation, they do not specifically assess variance among scores directly. Therefore, the characteristic of percentiles as indicators of relative performance distinctly supports the identification of A as the correct description.