14.2

*Chapter 14* (14.2) Consider norm referenced assessment and criterion referenced assessment. Are there advantages to both? Are there disadvantages?

Both norm- referenced and criterion referenced assessments are beneficial for different measurements. There are disadvantages and advantages to both types of assessments. Criterion- referenced testing gives information about student performance. They are compared to specific, specified criteria. This gives teachers a better understanding of the curriculum taught in their classrooms based on national and state standards. In my opinion, this gives teachers a better understanding of what exactly they're having problems with. These types of tests may also be used for measuring special services required for that student's test taking abilities. Students feel more comfortable with these types of tests because most of the time, it is content reflective. One disadvantage is that the results don't necessarily show how well a student may have done compared to others. If all the grades are very low, then the teacher can reflect upon their lesson plans and see what wasn't taught in an effective manner.

Norm- referenced assessments are a comparison test based on how well students do amongst their peers. These tests give a certain percentile that students may fall in. One advantage of this test is that it assesses how well a student does compared to their peers in certain content. Another advantage of this test is that it has the ability to show how well a teacher is teaching one particular area. If students in a class have an overall very high percentile in one area, it could mean that the teacher has very good lesson plans for that content area. One disadvantage is the possibility of outliers. One student that may particularly exceed the average or one student in the lowest region can throw off the percentile evaluations. One disadvantage to this test is that it may not take into consideration the socioeconomic statuses of that school's region, which is shown to affect students the most. Another disadvantage to this test is that most standardized norm- referenced tests like the TCAP or the Benchmarks are required to be taken by the special education population. This drives down the averages for other students; when in reality a student may have scored actually better than what the percentile they fall into. I would also like to add that most of the time students take to heart how their scores range on these norm- referenced tests. It can either bring down or increase their self-esteem. More than likely, students also feel much more stressed about these types of tests.