Ms. Davis, one of the teachers in your grade level group, says, "I don't know why you are bothering with all this standard error of measurement stuff. The obtained score is the best guess we have about an individual's true score." Which of the following responses is most correct? You're right; there is nothing to be gained by reporting the error of measurement. That may be, but this keeps nosy parents from asking too many questions. The obtained score doesn't consider reliability, the most important test characteristic. Using the error of measurement helps to ensure that small score differences are not overinterpreted