SeniorRank Score Methodology v1.0
How the SeniorRank Score™ works
The score asks how strong a provider appears across reliable consumer, regulatory, care-capability and transparency information. It is not a medical guarantee, government rating, or substitute for personal evaluation.
Consumer Reputation
35 points
Bayesian-normalized external reputation and first-party SeniorRank reviews. Verified and recent first-party reviews receive greater statistical weight.
Regulatory & Quality
35 points
Category-specific official licensing, inspection, compliance, certification, quality and enforcement information when available. Missing public data is not treated as perfect performance.
Care Capability
15 points
Verified capabilities reasonably expected for the care category, rather than luxury amenities. Provenance determines how much evidence contributes.
Transparency
15 points
Availability of useful pricing, ownership, licensing, care details, payment information and recently verified facts.
Review normalization
We use the Bayesian formula (v ÷ (v + m)) × R + (m ÷ (v + m)) × C, initially with m = 20. This prevents a handful of perfect ratings from automatically outranking hundreds of consistently strong reviews. Missing external sources are excluded and remaining authorized-source weights are renormalized.
Score confidence is separate
High requires at least 80% verified coverage; Moderate 60–79%; Provisional 40–59%. Below 40%, SeniorRank displays Insufficient Data and withholds the score. Active serious regulatory alerts also withhold the standard score pending review.
Editorial independence
Providers cannot pay to improve their SeniorRank Score or organic ranking.
Advertising, claim status and paid products are excluded from editorial calculations, rankings and award eligibility. Each calculation references a permanent methodology version, preserving historical meaning.