What are norm-referenced tests?

• A. Tests that establish a ranking and compare students' performance to an established norm based on age or peers
• B. Tests that measure knowledge of a specific content area
• C. Tests that evaluate attitudes and interests
• D. Tests that predict future achievement

Answer: (A)

Norm-referenced tests focus on relative standing. They compare a student’s performance to a norm group of peers who are similar in age or grade, producing scores that place the student on a distribution—often as percentile ranks or standard scores. The key idea is ranking and comparison to others, not measuring whether a student has mastered specific content. If you land in a high percentile, you’ve performed as well as or better than most of your peers; a lower percentile means relatively less relative achievement.

This differs from criterion-referenced tests, which assess whether you have mastered particular content or skills, regardless of how others perform. Attitude or interest measures look at preferences rather than achievement, and tests designed to predict future achievement aim to forecast how you might perform later, based on current data, rather than compare you to a norm group.