NORMS

UNIT 1
 A psychological test is a
standardized measure quantitatively
or qualitatively one or more than
one aspect of trait by means of a
sample of verbal or non-verbal
behaviors.
Psychological Test
 A psychological test is an objective and standardized measure of a sample
of behavior.

 First, a good test must have objectivity, meaning that it is free from
subjective elements regarding the interpretation of items and the scoring of
the test.

 A good test must also have reliability, meaning that the test obtains
consistent results when it is administered. A good test should be reliable,
meaning that it obtains consistent results.

 Test should also demonstrate validity, which indicates the extent to which
the test measures what it intends to measure.

 Test needs to be practicable such that the test is not too lengthy and the
scoring method is not too difficult.
Test norms
 Test norms consist of data that make it possible
to determine the relative standing of an
individual who has taken a test.
 By itself, a subject’s raw score (e.g., the number
of answers that agree with the scoring key) has
little meaning.
 Almost always, a test score must be interpreted
as indicating the subject’s position relative to
others in some group.
 Norms provide a basis for comparing the
individual with a group.
NORMS
 Norms refers to information regarding the group
performance of a particular reference on a
particular measure for which a person can be
compared to.
 Norms mean standardized score.
 Scores on psychological test are most
commonly interpreted by reference to norm
that represents the test performance on
standardization sample.
 Norms always represent the best performance.
Purpose of Norms:

 Norms indicate the individual’s relative standing

in the normative sample and thus permit
evaluation of his/her performance in refer to
other persons.
 Norms provide compared measures that
permitted a direct comparison of the individual
performance on difference test.
Purpose of Norms:
 Itattempts to compare the same individual on
two or more than two aspects of traits.
 Two or more than two persons may be
compared on the same trait.
 Such a measurement may be either
quantitative or qualitative.
Criterion-referenced
 Criterion-referenced tests compare a person’s
knowledge or skills against a predetermined
standard, learning goal, performance level, or
other criterion. With criterion-referenced tests,
each person’s performance is compared
directly to the standard, without considering
how other students perform on the test.
Criterion-referenced tests often use “cut
scores” to place students into categories such
as “basic,” “proficient,” and “advanced.”
Norm-referenced
 Norm-referenced measures compare a
person’s knowledge or skills to the knowledge
or skills of the norm group. The composition of
the norm group depends on the assessment.
Example
 One norm-referenced measure that many families are
familiar with is the baby weight growth charts in the
pediatrician’s office, which show which percentile a
child’s weight falls in. A child in the 50th percentile has an
average weight; a child in the 75th percentile weighs
more than 75% of the babies in the norm group and the
same as or less than the heaviest 25% of babies in the
norm group; and a child in the 25th percentile weighs
more than 25% of the babies in the norm group and the
same as or less than 75% of them. It’s important to note
that these norm-referenced measures do not say
whether a baby’s birth weight is “healthy” or
“unhealthy,” only how it compares
For example,
 A baby who weighed 2,600 grams at birth would be
in the 7th percentile, weighing the same as or less
than 93% of the babies in the norm group. However,
despite the very low percentile, 2,600 grams is
classified as a normal or healthy weight for babies
born in the United States—a birth weight of 2,500
grams is the cut-off, or criterion, for a child to be
considered low weight or at risk. (For the curious,
2,600 grams is about 5 pounds and 12 ounces.)
Thus, knowing a baby’s percentile rank for weight
can tell you how they compare with their peers, but
not if the baby’s weight is “healthy” or “unhealthy.”