Which of the following is a correctly matched pair?
2024
Which of the following is a correctly matched pair?
Answer: B. Norm-referenced assessment : compares performance to that of peers — Concept. These four labels are not defined by what a test looks like, but by two independent questions about how the evidence is referenced and when it is…
- A.
Criterion-referenced assessment : includes mastery of specific topics
- B.
Norm-referenced assessment : compares performance to that of peers
- C.
Formative assessment : determining what the students can do before and after the class
- D.
Summative assessment : involves paper-pencil tests as well as detailed accounts of non-written behaviours
Attempted by 4 students.
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Correct answer: B
Concept. These four labels are not defined by what a test looks like, but by two independent questions about how the evidence is referenced and when it is gathered:
What is the score compared with? Criterion-referenced assessment interprets performance against a fixed, pre-stated standard, so its verdict is mastery or non-mastery of a stated objective. Norm-referenced assessment interprets performance against the score distribution of a defined reference group, so its verdict is a position within that group.
When is the evidence gathered, and what is it used for? Formative assessment is gathered while teaching is still in progress and feeds the teacher's next instructional move. Summative assessment is gathered at the close of a unit, term or course to certify the level of achievement reached.
Applying it here. The description “compares performance to that of peers” is exactly the referencing rule of norm-referenced assessment: a raw score carries no meaning on its own and is read off the reference group's distribution as a rank, a percentile, or a grade on a curve. So the correctly matched pair is Norm-referenced assessment : compares performance to that of peers.
Cross-check the remaining pairings. Each names its term correctly but then describes something other than that term's defining feature:
Term | Defining feature | What the offered description actually names |
|---|---|---|
Criterion-referenced assessment | performance read against a fixed, pre-stated standard of mastery | the content covered, which is true of any achievement test and leaves the referencing standard unstated |
Formative assessment | evidence gathered during teaching, used to steer the next instructional step | a pre-test and post-test taken around the class, i.e. measurement outside the teaching process |
Summative assessment | evidence gathered at the end of a unit or course to certify achievement | the breadth of tools used in continuous and comprehensive evaluation, not an end-of-course certifying purpose |
Criterion-referenced assessment does concern mastery of pre-specified criteria, so that pairing reads close to correct; the official CTET July 2024 Paper II answer key nevertheless credits only the norm-referenced pairing, because it is the one description that states its term's defining referencing rule.