Norm-referenced Tests

Norm-referenced tests are the standardized tests typically given at the end of the school year to most students as a summative assessment. This type of test provides the school, teacher, students, and parents with information regarding a student's performance compared with the larger population of students at the same grade level.

Criterion-referenced Tests

Criterion-referenced tests, sometimes called standards-referenced tests, are designed to measure performance of specific skills at a designated degree of difficulty. While these scores can be compared across a class, a school, a district, or a state, they are not norm-referenced; they do not compare the performance of an individual with the performances of a group. Many states have criterion-referenced tests at designated grade levels and performance on these tests may determine whether a child can move on to the next grade level or not.

Either or both of these tests can be "high stakes tests," a test which determines a student's placement or the fate of an individual school or a district.