ABSTRACT
This chapter describes several frames of reference that one can use to interpret test scores. It discusses four frames of reference: ability-referenced, growth-referenced, norm-referenced, and criterion-referenced interpretations. The chapter also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. With ability-referenced interpretations, teachers compare a student's test score with some estimate of how well the student should be able to perform. With growth-referenced interpretations, the teacher compares a student's performance on a particular skill with how that student performed earlier in the year. With norm-referenced interpretations, the teacher compares the student's performance on a test with the performance of some norm group, often the other members of the class. Criterion-referenced interpretations began getting more popular in the United States beginning in the 1970s, largely in response to the criticisms leveled at norm-referenced interpretations. Since there are problems associated with the first two approaches, they are not used very often. Norm-referenced and criterion-referenced interpretations, however, are more commonly used for classroom tests.
