Which statement about norm-referenced grading is true?

• A. It compares students to mastery of targets.
• B. It emphasizes state accountability.
• C. It ranks students relative to peers.
• D. It is always the most precise method for instruction adjustment.

Answer: (D)

Norm-referenced grading centers on how a student performs relative to a reference group. Instead of measuring whether a student has mastered specific targets, it ranks students, often using percentile ranks or standard scores. This makes it useful for comparing students or for systems that look at how groups perform against peers. But because the emphasis is on relative standing rather than on meeting predefined learning targets, the data isn’t the most precise way to guide instruction toward specific targets. For that level of precision, criterion-referenced or mastery-based approaches—where performance is tied to fixed objectives and informing next steps—are a better fit. So the idea that this method is always the most precise for adjusting instruction isn’t accurate.