Which assessment type highlights achievement differences among students?

The norm-referenced assessment type is designed to compare a student's performance against the performances of a group of peers. By using this approach, it becomes possible to identify how an individual student stands in relation to others, allowing educators to pinpoint achievement differences among students.

In a norm-referenced assessment, scores are often reported in a way that indicates the percentile or rank of a student, highlighting where they fall within a distribution of scores. This is particularly useful for understanding relative performance, as it helps to identify students who excel and those who may need additional support, making it a valuable tool in educational settings focused on recognizing achievement gaps.

In contrast, formative assessments are typically used to monitor student learning progress over time and inform instructional practices rather than focusing on comparative achievement. Criterion-referenced assessments measure student performance against a fixed set of criteria or standards, assessing whether each student meets predetermined goals instead of comparing them to others. Performance assessments evaluate students based on their ability to apply knowledge and skills in real-world scenarios but do not inherently focus on how students compare to one another.