Criterion Referenced Tests and the Norm Referenced Tests Research Paper

Criterion Referenced Tests and the Norm Referenced Tests - Research Paper Example This essay highlights that  the criterion-referenced tests are intended to measure a person understands of a specific concept or skills that were required and are usually used in job evaluations and also in acquiring licenses. Under the CRT the tests are either a pass or a fail for a particular test since it tests if one has conceptualized a given concept or skill or not. The norm-referenced tests on the other hand are used to compare a given examinee with the other examinees. Under the norm-standard tests the examinees are given a similar test and they are compared against the results of each other that are put on a graph where the normal distribution is analyzed and the other extremes on either side of the curve are also characterized.  This discussion stresses that  the norm-referenced tests are usually used in schools and in grading students to understand the students that can make it to the next level as they are used to test their capability in the specific subjects and h ow they relate to their development educationally. As opposed to the CRT where there are no ranks but only a pass or a fail the ranking system is the most important aspect of the NRT system since the students that will pass and those that have failed need to be known to the teacher or practitioner.  The NRTs use criteria where the student is compared with other students in the classroom to gauge their capability in comparison to their peers.