Norm referenced and Criterion referenced
Language Assesmet Principles and Classroom Practices (Priyanvada)
Another dichotomy that's important to clarify and that aids in sorting out common terminology
in assessment is the distinction between norm-referenced and criterion-referenced testing. In
norm-referenced tests, each test-taker's score is interpreted in relation to a mean (average
score), median (middle score), standard deviation (extent of variance in scores), and/or
percentile rank. The purpose of such tests is to place test-takers in rank order along a
mathematical continuum. Scores are usually reported back to the test-taker in the form of a
numerical score (e.g., 230 of 300) and a percentile rank (such as 84%, which means that the
test-taker's score was higher than 84% of the total number of test-takers but lower than 16% in
that administration). Standardized tests such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT®), the
Graduate Record Exam (GRE), and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL®) are typical
of normreferenced tests. They are intended to be administered to large audiences, with results
efficiently disseminated to test-takers. Such tests must have fixed, predetermined responses in
a format that can be scored mechanically at minimum expense Cost and efficiency are primary
concerns in these tests.
Criterion-referenced tests, on the other hand, are designed to give test takers feedback, usually
in the form of grades, on specific course or lesson objectives. Classroom tests involving students
in only one course and connected to a particular curriculum are typical of criterion-referenced
testing. A good deal of time and effort on the part of the teacher (test administrator) is
sometimes required to deliver useful, appropriate feedback to students, or what Oller (1979, p
52) called “instructional value.” In a criterion-referenced test, the distribution ofstudents’
scores across a continuum may be of little concern as long as the instrument assesses
appropriate objectives (Brown & Hudson, 2000; Lynch & Davidson, 1994; Sadler, 2005). In
Language Assessment, with an audience of classroom language teachers and teachers in
training, and with its emphasis on classroom-based assessment (as opposed to large-scale
standardized testing), criterion-referenced testing is of more prominent interest than norm-
referenced testing.
Language Assesmet Principles and Classroom Practices (San Francisco State University)
Both books use the same expert, and the statements are also very similar, norm-referenced tests
each test taker's score is interpreted in relation to the mean (average score), median (middle
score), standard deviation (degree of variation in scores), and/or percentile rank. The purpose
of such tests is to place test takers along a mathematical continuum in rank order. Scores are
typically reported back to test takers in the form of a numerical score (e.g., 230 out of 300) and
a percentile rank (such as 84 percent, meaning that the test taker's score is higher than 84
percent of the total number of test takers, but lower than 16 percent on that administration).
