Norm-referenced assessment

• An assessment designed to measure and compare individual students’ performances or test results to those of an appropriate peer group (that is, norm group) at the classroom, local, or national level.

• Normally has a base line set by students that is thought to be the average achievement

Terms:• Norming process

-Calculating norm-referenced scores

• Norming group

-the comparison group

-typically comprise only a small subset of previous test takers, not all or even most previous test takers. Test developers use a variety of statistical methods to select norming groups, interpret raw scores, and determine performance levels.

• Norm-referenced tests

- often use a multiple-choice format, though some include open-ended, short-answer questions. They are usually based on some form of national standards, not locally determined standards or curricula

Why use norm-referenced assessment?

• To determine a young child’s readiness for preschool or kindergarten. These tests may be designed to measure oral-language ability, visual-motor skills, and cognitive and social development.

• To evaluate basic reading, writing, and math skills. Test results may be used for a wide variety of purposes, such as measuring academic progress, making course assignments, determining readiness for grade promotion, or identifying the need for additional academic support.

• to identify specific learning disabilities, such as autism, dyslexia, or nonverbal learning disability, or to determine eligibility for special-education services.

• To make program-eligibility or college-admissions decisions (in these cases, norm-referenced scores are generally evaluated alongside other information about a student).

DimensionNorm-Referenced

Tests

PurposeTo rank each student with respect to theachievement of others in broad areas of knowledge.To discriminate between high and low achievers.

ContentMeasures broad skill areas sampled from a variety of textbooks, syllabi, and the judgments of curriculum experts.

ItemCharacteristics

Each skill is usually tested by less than four items.Items vary in difficulty.

Items are selected that discriminate between highand low achievers.

ScoreInterpretation

Each individual is compared with other examinees and assigned a score--usually expressed as a percentile, a grade equivalent score, or a stanine.Student achievement is reported  for broad skill areas, although some norm-referenced tests do report student achievement for individual skills.

References:

• http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/measeval/crnmref.html

• http://edglossary.org/norm-referenced-test/

• http://www.learnnc.org/reference/norm-referenced+assessment