FAA Fundamentals of Instructing (FOI)Assessment and CritiqueMedium
An aviation university compares each student's score on a standardized aeronautical knowledge exam to the scores of thousands of other students nationwide who took the same test, ranking students by percentile rather than measuring them against a fixed proficiency standard. This type of test is best described as a...
- AFormative test
- BDiagnostic test
- CCriterion-referenced test
- DNorm-referenced test
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. Norm-referenced test
A norm-referenced test compares an individual's performance to that of a larger group (a norm), often expressed as a percentile rank, rather than against a predetermined standard of proficiency.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Formative describes timing (during instruction), not the method of score interpretation.
- B. Diagnostic tests identify strengths/weaknesses before instruction; they do not necessarily involve peer comparison.
- C. A criterion-referenced test measures performance against a fixed standard, such as an FAA ACS, not other students.
Norm-Referenced Test
A test whose scores are interpreted by comparing an individual's performance to the performance of a reference group of peers.
- Results often reported as percentile ranks
- Contrasts with criterion-referenced tests, which use a fixed standard
- Common in standardized academic testing
Memory trick: Norm = compare to the Neighbors