There are two types of tests that are commonly used in Georgia public schools;

1. Norm-Referenced Tests (NRT)

ITBS, COGAT, Individual IQ/Achievement Tests (Used mostly by school psychologists and special education teachers), SAT (College entrance test), ACT (College entrance test)

Norm-Referenced Tests measure skills but do not have "Cut Scores" (a cut score is a minimal number of questions required to pass the test). A NRT compares students of the same age/grade who take the test at the same time against students all over the country. For example, a student may score at the 60th percentile on a skill. This percentile is not showing mastery of the skill. It is showing how the student compares on that skill to students his/her same age/grade all over the US. (The student scored as well as or better than 60% of all students who took the test during the same year in the same grade.) Tests are re-normed approximately every 5-10 years.

NRTs use different types of scores (percentiles, standard scores, grade equivalents).

Percentiles compare the student with other students who are in the same grade who took the test the same year across the US.

Standard Scores are more complicated and can be considered as extensions of percentiles.

Grade Equivalents are often misunderstood. The GE is a score that expresses the average performance of a student in a particular grade level. If a 4th grader has a reading GE of 7.5 it does not mean that she is reading at a 7th grade level. It means she has the same score as an average 7th grader would have reading the 4th grade material.

2. Criterion Referenced Tests (CRT)

CRCT, GHSGT, EOCT, 3rd, 5th and 8th grade Writing Tests, GKIDS, ACCESS (Used for English Speakers of Other Languages)

Criterion Referenced Tests require that a committee (usually educators, content-area specialists and state administrators) look at a battery of questions, match them to the curriculum and for each question the committee determines if a "minimally competent" student in that subject area would get the question correct or incorrect. After all the items have been examined the committee's recommendation are taken and used to create "cut scores". "Cut scores" will mark the difference between a student who "Meets" or "Does Not Meet Standards". For example, a math test might have 60 questions with a cut score of 33. This would mean that a student who gets 33 out of 60 questions correct would "meet" standards.

CRTs also use different types of scores.

Raw Scores are the number of questions that the student answered correctly.

Scaled Scores are similar to standard scores from the NRT section.They involve cut scores and conversions to a different scale.

Performance Levels are general terms "Does Not Meet", "Meets" or "Exceeds" based on the number of questions answered correctly.

*Information taken from http://www.barrow.k12.ga.us/Testing/What_Do_My_Child.pdf