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Assessment Terms
Criterion Referenced Test (CRT)
Criterion referenced tests assess an individual's performance on a specific
set of standards or criteria. These criteria are based on specific skills
or objectives the individual has been taught. The CRT measures the level
to which the criteria have been met.
Norm Referenced Test (NRT)
Norm referenced tests compare an individual's performance on a test to
other people who took the test. The results are reported in comparison
to other people rather than how much of a specific criteria has been met.
National Percentiles
National Percentile ranks indicate relative
standing of a student in comparison with other students in the same grade
in the norm group who took that test at a comparable time of year. Percentile
ranks range from a low of 1 to a high of 99, with 50 denoting average
performance for the grade. The percentile rank is a way of comparing the
relative ranking of a student who took the test at that grade level. A
percentile of 74 indicates that the students did better than 73 of every
100 students who took the test.
Stanines
Stanine scores indicate a students relative standing in the national norm
group. They range from a low of 1 to a high of 9. Stanine Scores of 1,
2, or 3 indicate functioning below average. Stanines of 4, 5, and 6 are
considered average, and stanines of 7, 8 or 9 are considered above average.
Normal Curve Equivalents (NCE)
NCE's were developed to avoid problems that often occur with other types
of scores. School personnel frequently try to aggregate percentile scores,
but percentile scores should never be added, subtracted or averaged because
the distance between points is not equal. At the upper and lower ends
of the scale, the percentile points are farther apart than in the middle.
Because of its equal-interval nature, any difference, such as 5 NCE's,
has the same meaning, regardless of the part of the normal curve being
referenced.
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