The Words We Use: A Glossary of Terms for
Early Childhood Education Standards and Assessment
Definition
A standardized testing instrument by which the test-taker's performance is interpreted in relation to the performance of a group of peers who have previously taken the same test. The group of peers is known as the "norming" group.
Related Terms (Not Synonyms)
Achievement test; Criterion-referenced test; Standards-based test
Explanatory Comments
- Norm-referenced tests are distinguished from criterion-referenced tests, the scores of which are derived by comparing the performance of the test-taker to a pre-specified standard or "criterion."
- The distinction between norm-referenced tests and criterion-referenced tests is especially important in light of Federal requirements for standards-based assessment.
- Although these tests are almost always referred to as "norm-referenced tests," they are really norm-referenced interpretations of a score of a given test.
- Most standardized tests are norm-referenced.
- Understanding the meaning of scores resulting from norm-referenced tests requires some understanding of statistics.
Web Sources
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. (2002). A lexicon of learning: What educators mean when they say… Retrieved May 19, 2003, from http://www.ascd.org/educationnews/lexicon/lexiconoflearning.html
Education Week. Glossary. Retrieved May 19, 2003, from http://www.edweek.org/context/glossary/glossterm.cfm?glossid=88
Massachusetts Department of Education System for Adult Basic Education Support. Glossary of useful terms. Retrieved May 19, 2003, from http://www.sabes.org/assessment/glossary.htm
National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST). Assessment glossary. Retrieved May 19, 2003, from http://www.cse.ucla.edu/CRESST/pages/glossary.htm
Other Resources
Gage, N.L., & Berliner, D. (1998). Educational psychology. (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Popham, W. J. (1999). Classroom assessment: What teachers need to know. (2nd Ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
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