Editing Standardized test (section)

===Using scores for comparisons===

There are two types of [[test score]] interpretations:  a [[norm-referenced test|norm-referenced]] score interpretation or a [[criterion-referenced test|criterion-referenced]] score interpretation.<ref name="Allen" />

* '''Norm-referenced score interpretations''' compare test takers to a [[Sampling (statistics)|sample of peers]].<ref name="Allen" />  The goal is to rank test takers as being better or worse than others.  Norm-referenced test score interpretations are associated with [[traditional education]]. People who perform better than others pass the test, and people who perform worse than others fail the test.
* '''Criterion-referenced score interpretations''' compare test takers to a criterion (a formal definition of content), regardless of the scores of other examinees.<ref name="Allen" /> These may also be described as [[standards-based assessment]]s, as they are aligned with the [[standards-based education reform]] movement.<ref>Where We Stand: Standards-Based Assessment and Accountability (American Federation of Teachers) [http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/downloads/teachers/StandAssessRes.pdf/] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060824050606/http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/downloads/teachers/StandAssessRes.pdf/|date=August 24, 2006}}</ref> Criterion-referenced score interpretations are concerned solely with whether or not this particular student's answer is correct and complete.  Under criterion-referenced systems, it is possible for all test takers to pass the test, or for all test takers to fail the test.

Either of these systems can be used in standardized testing. What is important to standardized testing is whether all students are asked the equivalent questions, under reasonably equal circumstances, and graded according to the same standards. 

[[File:Standard Normal Distribution.png|alt=a generic normal curve, with standard deviations marked|thumb|A norm-referenced test may be designed to find where the test taker falls along a [[normal curve]].]]

A ''normative assessment'' compares each test taker against other test takers. A [[norm-referenced test]] (NRT) is a type of test, [[Educational assessment|assessment]], or [[evaluation]] which yields an estimate of the position of the tested individual in a predefined population. The estimate is derived from the analysis of test scores and other relevant data from a [[Sample (statistics)|sample]] drawn from the population. This type of test identifies whether the test taker performed better or worse than other people taking this test.  An [[IQ test]] is a norm-referenced standardized test.     

Comparing against others makes norm-referenced standardized tests useful for admissions purposes in higher education, where a school is trying to compare students from across the nation or across the world. The standardization ensures that all of the students are being tested equally, and the norm-referencing identifies which are better or worse.  Examples of such international benchmark tests include the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study ([[Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study|TIMMS]]) and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study ([[Progress in International Reading Literacy Study|PIRLS]]).
[[File:Ensuring water quality (7831355868).jpg|alt=Technician holds color-coded card with water testing standards|thumb|[[Water testing]] uses criterion-referenced testing, because it is more important to determine whether the local water is safe to drink than to compare it against water from a different place.]]

A [[criterion-referenced test]] (CRT) is a style of test which uses test scores to show how well test takers performed on a given task, not how well they performed compared to other test takers. Most tests and quizzes that are written by school teachers are criterion-referenced tests. In this case, the objective is simply to see whether the test taker can answer the questions correctly.  The test giver is not usually trying to compare each person's result against other test takers.