13.1.6.1
Norm-referencing
Norm-referenced assessments are those in which result boundaries are not fixed but are determined by a comparison of how students in a particular cohort have performed relative to each other. For example, it might be decided that in a given exam the top 10% of the resultant marks are to be classified as 'A', 30% as 'B', 35% as 'C', 20% as 'D' and 5% as 'E'. Just by knowing that a student scored, say, 82%, we would not be able to tell whether he/she had got an 'A', 'B', or whatever. It is only the overall ranking, ie the student's performance relative to the rest of the cohort, that would give us this information. This was the system employed in UK public exams several years ago before the advent of GCSEs, and it is still used in those areas of the country that employ 11+ or school entrance exams: there are a certain number of places available and therefore only the top x% will be successful and the minimum mark required to ensure success will vary from year to year. Generally speaking, other than in such highly competitive circumstances where places are strictly limited, norm-referencing is now both less common and less desirable.
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