Sage Research Methods - The SAGE Encyclopedia of Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation (2024)

Norming refers to the process of constructing norms or the typical performance of a group of individuals on a psychological or achievement assessment. Tests that compare an individual’s score against the scores of groups are termed norm-referenced assessments. These norm-referenced assessments help educational stakeholders such as administrators, teachers, and parents make informed educational decisions about an individual student and the student’s progress.

In the field of education, the challenges include accurately representing test populations and interpreting the scores. These challenges involve addressing issues of understanding the test takers, calculating many types of scores based on specific needs, and sampling for representative scores, among others. For this reason, norming requires multiple considerations throughout the steps of the process. This entry first discusses the process of norming, including ...