Norm-referenced tests compare a person’s score against the scores of a group of people who have already taken the same test, called the “norming group.” Scores are reported in percentiles, quartiles, stanines, and/or grade equivalents. Norm-referenced tests are designed to compare students’ scores. Commercial norm-referenced tests do not compare all of the students who take the test in a given year. Test-makers select a sample from a given student group, i.e. all 6t

Most norm-referenced tests are multiple-choice tests. They use content that many times is not seen in the local curriculum. Examples of these are: the California Achievement Test (CAT), the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS), which includes the Terra Nova, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), the Metropolitan Achievement Test (MAT), and the Stanford Achievement Test. “Cognitive Ability”, “School Readiness”, and IQ tests are also examples of Norm-referenced tests.

Some states have begun looking at a new type of test called Customized Standardized Tests. These tests combine both norm-referencing and criterion-referencing items. One such test was recently adopted by the State of Tennessee. This test uses approximately 40 items instead of the normal 80 to 100 for the norm-referenced module and a criterion-referenced module of state-developed test questions. The norm-referenced module was created so that it is properly characterized statistically and is understandable over all grade levels. Items used for the norm-referenced module are not to be used for objective results and the criterion-referenced items are not to be used as part of the norm-referenced scores. This model reduces testing time and requires only one period instead of two. It provides norm-referenced scores for use in comparison to other schools and students and demonstrates student attainment of the state’s standards of learning.

The most important reason to use criterion-referenced tests is because they give a very accurate description of whether students have mastered any particular educational goals or outcomes tested. They can describe particular math operations a student has mastered or not mastered and they can show what level of reading the student can understand. It is easier to show that the students are mastering state mandated standards using criterion-referenced tests. Teachers and administrators can align their curriculums to the standards thus allowing teachers to design their tests to match those standards.

These tests are made to determine whether the student has mastered material in a given grade or course. The content of these tests a reading test, for example, would not have any other material on it but the reading material. A geometry test would not have algebra or simple math on it.

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