The Pros and Cons of Criterion Referenced Assessments and Norms Referenced Assessments

Criterion referenced assessments are those assessments that measure specific concepts and skills. Most criterion assessments are scored on the 100 point scale and the students receive a score based on a percentage. The pros of criteria referenced assessments are advantageous to the teacher because not only does the assessment measure progress that assessment also measures specific skills and concepts that is understood by the student. This allows the teacher to restructure their instruction so that the student can understand the concept. . One problem with criterion referenced assessment is that it cannot convey every possible meaning of the student learning (Wegner, 1998). Hager et al (1994) argues that there these type of assessments only assesses automatic and trivial tasks, but argues that professional educators have a hard time adjusting to new types of assessments because they are the grass roots assessment of most educational institutions.

Norms referenced assessments also have both pros and cons in its implementations. This type of assessment is created to measure an individual’s performance or scores to a reference group such as grade, age, or intellect. This is where most standardized testing gets its data. The good points of this kind of assessment are that it objective in scoring and create an externality in measurement. This assessment also provides more groups each time a student takes it and the base of measurement is expounded on. On the bad end on the spectrum, the test can limit what is measured. When compared with other groups the test can have a high degree of error.

Either assessment has its pros and cons and when used together, both assessment can provide data that will give a closer look at the whole student.

Hagar, P., Gonczi, A. and Athanasou, J. 1994 “General Issues about the Assessment of Competence” in Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education Vol 19, No. 1:3-15. Retrieved on September 26, 2009 from ERIC database.

Wenger, E. (1998) Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and IdentityCambridgeUniversity Press, Cambridge. Retrieved on September 26, 2009 from googlebooks.com

Prus, J., & Johnson, R. (1994) A critical review of student assessment options. New Directions for Community Colleges, (88). Retrieved on September 26, 2009 from ERIC database.


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