A big part of my confusion comes from the use of norm-referenced tests. For my middle school student, the NRTs used were the Terra Nova test in mathematics and the Stanford 10 reading test.

The problem with norm-referenced tests, I think, is that you really never show much progress. If it is a test of fourth grade, half the children will be above the norm, and half are supposed to be ...

Smarter Balanced is what test experts call ... write and use criterion-referenced tests. They are designed to be taken by everyone and aimed at measuring acceptable skill levels. In contrast, the SAT ...

Corrected: The original version of this post incorrectly stated the nature of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. It has been corrected to reflect that it is a norm-referenced test. (This is the second ...

The STAAR's technical documents reveal that the test is designed much like a norm-referenced test – that is, assessing students relative to their peers, rather than if they meet a fixed standard.