Most public school students are required to take the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT). The SAT is a standardized, norm-referenced test. A standardized test is a test that contains the same questions administered under the same conditions for every student and is scored the same way. Students have roughly the same number of days of instruction prior to the test and are given exactly the same amount of time to complete the test. By standardizing testing conditions, comparisons can be made regardless of geographical location in the country. Not all standardized tests are norm-referenced tests.
A norm-referenced test (NRT) compares each student’s achievement to the achievement of a representative national sample of public school students of the same age and grade (norming group) at a particular point in time (norming year). The Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth Edition (Stanford 9) was normed in 1995; and, therefore, reports test results in comparison to nationwide student achievement in 1995. The test covers the subjects of reading, mathematics, and language.
The results help teachers to plan lessons that build upon what a child already knows and encourage progress in areas a child has not yet mastered. State statutes, which vary by state, may provide that a child tested or assessed by Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) or any other assessment used by the school system who scores or is assessed at a range of one grade below any subject or subjects, or falls below the average of the school system assessment shall be provided tutoring programs for reading skills and other subjects.
