Norm-Referenced Test

A norm-referenced test is a type of test, assessment or evaluation that yields an estimate of where a tested individual stands, with respect to the trait being measured, within a predefined population, rather than whether the individual knows more or less material than is necessary for a given purpose. Assigning scores this way is described as relative grading or grading on a curve, referring to the bell curve, the graphical representation of the normal distribution, though the method can in principle be used to produce any desired distribution of grades rather than only a normal one. It contrasts with criterion-referenced assessment, where a score shows whether a test taker performed well or poorly on a given task rather than how that compares to other test takers, and with ipsative assessment, which compares a test taker to their own previous performance; the psychologist Robert Glaser originally coined both the terms norm-referenced test and criterion-referenced test.