Use and misuse of
norm-referenced tests in clinical assessment: A hypothetical case.
In addition to
norm-referenced tests such as the Beery VMI, interviews and clinical observations can document how the visual-perceptual difficulties affect a child's daily activities (Chan & Chow, 2005).
Norm-referenced tests and the interpretation of NRT scores are premised on the twin concepts of sortition and comparison, through procedures that establish the relative position of each member of the population.
It is not reasonable to set P at a fixed range, as is usually done for a
norm-referenced test item in which P is usually set at 0.30-0.70 (Allen & Yen, 1979).
On Standard II, candidates demonstrated a good understanding of terms and practices related to vocabulary development, comprehension instruction, and building fluency (e.g., KWL; question--answer relationship; semantic mapping; context, structure, sound, reference (CSSR); morphemic analysis; repeated readings; choral reading) and an even better understanding of assessment procedures and intervention strategies on Standard III (e.g., informal reading inventory (IRI); anecdotal records;
norm-referenced tests; repeated reading; visual, auditory, kinesthetic-tactile method; readability).
At the time, no
norm-referenced test of mathematics was available that had Australian norms for children in the first 3 years of school.
The SLP's skill with a variety of assessment techniques is further necessitated by the increased awareness of the serious limitations of the
norm-referenced tests that for so many years were the "stock in trade" for determining the existence of communication disorders and the need for speech-language services (ASHA, 2000).
To examine criterion-related validity of CBM procedures, Pearson Product moment correlations between student scores on the
norm-referenced test (TERA-D/HH) and the four CBM metrics were computed.
* Student performance on our new standards-based instruments must correlate with an acceptable standardized,
norm-referenced test. This is necessary to determine the effect our curriculum and instruction are having on district students in comparison to their counterparts across the country.
In a study by Vollands, Topping, and Evans (1999)
norm-referenced test scores of an experimental group exposed to Accelerated Reader were compared to those of a control group not using the program.
Research has consistently recognized a strong relationship between economic disadvantage and low
norm-referenced test scores.
Just ask the experts in the testing industry: No matter how finely they tune a state's criterion- or
norm-referenced test, it should never be used as the sole measure of a child's achievement.