The TerraNova Two-Step

This week we’re all doing the TerraNova two-step.

It’s standardized testing season at the Hellenic. This week, we’ll do hours and hours and hours of standardized testing. We’ll do reading, math, social studies, science, vocabulary, spelling, and more. 

Standardized tests break down into two types: norm-referenced and criterion-referenced tests.

What’s the difference?

Norm-referenced tests compare test-takers to a representative sample of the test-taker’s peers. The scores rank students as being better or worse than other students. Scores are usually represented as percentile  - as in your score was higher than 93% of other students tested. Norm-referenced test score interpretations are associated with traditional education.

Criterion-referenced tests compare test-takers to a set of content standards. They do not compare the scores of students who took the test. They only measure content the test-taker has mastered.  These may also be described as standard-based assessments. This kind of test is aligned with the standards-based education reform movement.

Many middle-schoolers in Massachusetts are taking the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests, also known as the MCAS tests.

The TerraNovas are a norm-referenced test while the MCAS test is criterion-referenced.

In the past several years the role of standardized tests in the educational system have become a point of friction between teachers, administrators, and officials in the state and federal governments. 

For the students, they can be a point of high stress and/or a week of boring test sessions.