Norm-Referenced Assessments
What are they?
Norm-referenced assessments compare a child’s scores to the scores of children in a large, same-age or same-grade sample (this sample is referred to as the “normative sample”). By understanding how an individual child scores in relation to his same-age or same-grade peers, we can determine if his performance is significantly different than what we would expect from average-performing children of his age or grade.
When are they most useful?
- When special education eligibility decisions require the use of norm-referenced assessments (e.g., a cognitive abilities test for the identification of mental retardation)
- School-wide screening for vision, hearing, physical mobility, and preliteracy/numeracy skills
- To better understand the skills or abilities of a student with a mixed educational history (e.g., a student who has been enrolled in many different schools; when individual school records are not available)
(Brown-Chisdey, 2008)
What are some limitations?
- Norm-referenced tests may inadequately represent a child’s academic skills because there is often little overlap between what the child has been taught in school (the curriculum) and the material on the test
- These assessments provide little information about how to improve current instructional practices to benefit the student
- When assessing academic skills, it is important to understand the progress that students are making; however, norm-referenced tests are not designed to be given on a frequent basis and thus are not useful in assessing academic progress or improvement
- The academic skills assessed by these measures are often limited (a general sampling of skills is most common), and so these tests provide little to no insight into children’s competencies in specific, curricular skill areas
(Shapiro, 2011)
Some examples, please?
- Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities – Third Edition (WJ-III)
- Wechsler Individual Achievement Test – Third Edition (WIAT-III)
- SAT or ACT
Controversies surrounding norm-referenced assessments and my two cents!
When we look at the limitations of norm-referenced tests, it's easy to see that these assessments do not provide all of the information we need in order to understand why a student is struggling in school or how to help him or her. There is currently much controversy in the field regarding this issue. Researchers underscore the fact that norm-referenced assessments do not provide information regarding the curricular skills strengths and weaknesses of the child, the academic supports and interventions that are required, the extent to which the child is making academic progress, or the child's responsiveness to evidence-based interventions. Unfortunately, norm-referenced tests are still used widely by school psychologists to make important decisions regarding students' education. I personally feel that while norm-referenced assessments may be useful in certain situations (see above), for the most part, there are other forms of assessment (e.g., curriculum based assessment) that yield more practical results. If our goal is to help all children succeed in school, then as school psychologists we must abandon archaic assessment methods in favor of those that have been shown to provide information that is useful in determining individual needs, developing interventions, and monitoring student progress and responsiveness.
Criterion-Referenced Assessments
What are they?
Criterion-referenced assessments compare a child’s performance on certain tasks to a pre-defined standard or set of criteria. The goal is to examine if a child has demonstrated mastery of a certain skill of set of skills. For example, if Susie earns a score of 93 on a criterion-referenced math assessment and the mastery criterion is a score of 85, she has demonstrated mastery of that skill. It is assumed that children who do not know or require instruction in a specific skill area will perform poorly on a criterion-referenced assessment that measures that skill.
When are they most useful?
- Because criterion-referenced assessments detect the specific skill strengths and weaknesses of a student, these measures can enable school personnel to determine target areas for intervention
- These tests are useful for teachers in determining if students have mastered the skills needed to advance to the next level of instruction
- Criterion-referenced assessments created by classroom teachers map onto curriculum and thus are appropriate for assessing children’s performance on the skills being taught
(Shapiro, 2011)
What are some limitations?
- Mastery criterion scores may be established based on logic, rather than empirical evidence
- These assessments do not allow us to analyze a child’s performance in relation to average same-age or same-grade peers
(Shapiro, 2011)
Some examples, please?
- Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS)
- Brigance Inventory for Early Development–II
- Classroom exams/tests/quizzes
How can I learn more?
References
Brown-Chidsey, R. (Ed.). (2008). Assessment for intervention: A problem solving
approach. The Guilford Press: New York.
Sharpiro, E.S. (2011). Academic skills problems: Direct assessment and intervention (4th edition). New York, Guilford Press.
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