Page 197 - DEDU504_EDUCATIONAL_MEASUREMENT_AND_EVALUATION_ENGLISH

Unit 15 : Norm Referenced Test

15.5 Advantages of Norm Referenced Test ( NRT) Notes

To compare students, it is often easiest to use a Norm-Referenced Test because they were created
to rank test-takers : It there are limited places (such as in a “Gifted and Talented” program) and
choices have to be made, it is tempting to use a test constructed to rank students, even if the
ranking is not very meaningful and keeps out some qualified children.
NRT’s are a quick snapshot of some of the things most people expect students to learn : They are
relatively cheap and easy to administer. If they were only used as one additional piece of
information and not much importance was put on them, they would not be much of a problem.

15.6 Disadvantages of Norm Referenced Test ( NRT)

The damage caused by using NRTs is far greater than any possible benefits the tests provide :
The main purpose of NRTs is to rank and sort students, not to determine whether students have
learned the material they have been taught. They do not measure anywhere near enough of what
students should learn. They have very harmful effects on curriculum and instruction. In the end,
they provide a distorted view of learning that then causes damage to Norm-Referenced Measures
(NRM)
Most appropriate when one wishes to make comparisons across large numbers of students or
important decisions regarding student placement and advancement. Norm-referenced measures
are designed to compare students (i.e., disperse average student scores along a importance placed
upon high scores, the content of a standardized test can be very influential in the development of
a school’s curriculum and standards of excellence.
The testing profession, in its Standards for Educational and Psychological Measurement, states, “In
elementary or secondary education, a decision or characterization that will have a major impact
on a test taker should not automatically be made on the basis of a single test score.”
Any one test can only measure a limited part of a subject area or a limited range of important
human abilities : A “reading” test may measure only some particular reading “skills,” not a full
range of the ability to understand and use texts. Multiple-choice math tests can measure skill in
computation or solving routine problems, but they are not good for assessing whether students
can reason mathematically and apply their knowledge to new, real-world problems.

Most NRTs focus too heavily on memorization and routine procedures : Tests like these cannot
show whether a student can write a research paper, use history to help understand current events,
understand the impact of science on society, or debate important issues. They don’t test problem-
solving, decision-making, judgement, or social skills.
Tests often cause teachers to overemphasize memorization and de-emphasize thinking and
application of knowledge : Since the tests are very limited, teaching to them narrows instruction
and weakens curriculum. Making test score gains the definition of “improvement” often guarantees
that schooling becomes test coaching. As a result, students are deprived of the quality education
they deserve.
Norm-referenced tests also can lower academic expectations : NRTs support the idea that learning
or intelligence fits a bell curve. If educators believe it, they are more likely to have low expectations
of students who score below average.

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