Criterion-referenced test - American Education

An examination that measures and compares a student’s knowledge to teacher and school goals and expectations for the particular class and grade. The best known criterion-referenced tests are competency tests that measure each student’s basic level of skills in each subject. Criterion-referenced tests are one of three broad types of tests. The others are the NORM-REFERENCED TEST, which compares the student’s knowledge to the average knowledge of other children, and the CHILDREFERENCED TEST, which compares a child’s knowledge after instruction with what he knew before. Each of the three has its advantages and disadvantages, depending on the motivation of the schools and individual teachers. Scores of criterion-referenced tests can be artificially elevated, for example, by “teaching the test” and devoting class time to preparing students for possible questions they may face on such tests.