Final answer:
Criterion-referenced assessments measure against a fixed set of standards, aiming to determine if students meet specific objectives. Norm-referenced assessments, meanwhile, compare a student's performance to that of a norm group, focusing on rankings rather than set standards.
Step-by-step explanation:
Criterion-referenced assessment differs from norm-referenced assessment in the way they measure student performance and interpret results. Criterion-referenced assessments are designed to measure student performance against a fixed set of predetermined criteria or learning standards. Examples include the ability to perform a specific skill or the level of knowledge in a subject area. The goal is to determine whether each student has achieved specific objectives, regardless of how other students perform.
Contrastingly, norm-referenced assessments compare a student's performance to a norm group, which is a large sample of peers who have previously taken the exam. Scoring and the interpretation of results are based on where the student stands in comparison to this norm group. It's not about meeting a defined standard, but about ranking among peers.
In summary, while criterion-referenced assessments judge performance based solely on criterion, not in relation to other test-takers, norm-referenced assessments involve norming and standardizing tests to make comparisons across groups of test-takers.