Richter's scale of cultures
Richter's scale of cultures was a method of describing cultural achievement. 

Prior to learning their true nature in 2267, Federation experts rated the Organians at approximately class D minus on this scale; presumably, this corresponded to an agrarian culture with hand- or animal-powered machinery. ()

See also
Hodgkin's Law of Parallel Planetary Development
Industrial scale
Technological rating

Appendices

Background information
According to a PADD created for  but not readably seen, the Evora (then apparently known as Bartisi) ranked B Minus on the Richter scale (sic). In the movie, they were said to have been significantly less advanced than the Federation, having only achieved warp drive a year before.

Apocrypha
In the TOS novel , Doctor Alonzo Richter invented the Richter scale of culture in the early 2200s to monitor a civilization's progress.

External link

pl:Skala Richtera
Measurements