Norms

Br. Sockie de la Rosa FSC

What are norms?
What are norms for?
What are some examples of norms?
What are norm-referenced tests? (NFT)
What are the advantages of NFTs?
What are the disadvantages of NFTs?

What are Norms?
Norms refer to the performances by defined
groups on particular tests
The norms for a test are based on the distribution
of scores obtained by some defined sample of
individuals.
What are Norms?
Norms refers to information regarding the group
performance of a particular reference on a
particular measure for which a person can be
compared to.
Norms mean standardized scores.
What are Norms?
Psychometric assessments are normed against
comparison groups. Rather than looking at
individual items, we look at the total score for an
Norms give an appropriate comparison to
compare a person's scores to individual on a
scale or test and then compare this to others.
What are norms for?
Norms indicate the individuals relative standing
in the normative sample and thus permit
evaluation of his/her performance in refer to
other persons.
Norms provide compared measures that
permitted a direct comparison of the individual
performance on difference test.
What are norms for?
Tests can be thought of as yardsticks, but they
are less efficient and reliable than actual
yardsticks. A test yields one or more objectively
obtained quantitative scores so that, as much as
possible, each person is assessed in the same
way. The intent is to provide a fair and
equitable comparison among test takers.
What are some examples of
norms?
Grade norms Norms specifically designed as a reference in the
context of the grade of the test taker who achieved a particular
score
Local norms Normative information about some limited
population, frequently of specific interest to the test user
National norms Norms derived from a standardization sample
that was nationally representative of the population
User norms Also referred to as program norms, descriptive
statistics based on a group of testtakers in a given period of time
rather than on norms obtained by formal sampling methods
What are NRTs?
A method of evaluation and a way of deriving meaning from test
scores by evaluating an individual test taker's score and
comparing it to scores of a group of test takers; test scores
are understood relative to other test scores on the same test
Norm-references psychological tests are standardized on a clearly
defined group, termed the norm group, and scaled so that each
individual score reflects a rank within the norm group.
A Norm-Referenced Test (NRT) compares an examinee's test
performance to those of the examinee's same-age peers from
the test's norm group. This comparison permits a more
meaningful interpretation of the individual's score.
What are the advantages of
NRTs?
Ornstein describes a number of strengths of NRTs,
including but not limited to the following: a) they assume
statistical rigor in that they are reliable (i.e., dependable
and stable) and valid (i.e., measure what they are
reported to measure); b) the quality of test items is
generally high in that they are developed by test
experts, pilot tested, and undergo revision prior to
publication and use; and c) administration procedures
are standardized and the test items are designed to
rank examinees for the purpose of placing them in
specific programs or instructional groups.
What are the disadvantages
of NFTs
If disparities exist between examinees and the
norm group in terms of skills and experiences,
the conclusions based on the examinee's test
performance may be misleading.
Stewart and Kaminski emphasize that the
knowledge of how a student's performance in a
particular subject area using local norms
compares with that of their performance using
national norms is quite significant.