Which of the following is NOT a disadvantage of norm-referenced assessments?

• A. Administered individually in an unfamiliar context
• B. Can overidentify children from minority cultures
• C. Each language target is assessed using very few items
• D. They are sometimes used to assess progress with intervention

Answer: (D)

Norm-referenced tests are designed to place a child’s performance in relation to a larger group, which is why their common drawbacks include testing in an unfamiliar context, potential cultural bias, and measuring many language targets with only a few items (reducing reliability and precision). However, using the same norm-referenced assessment to monitor progress during intervention isn’t inherently a disadvantage. You can administer it at multiple points to see how a child’s standing relative to peers changes over time, which can be informative for judging overall growth. That said, norm-referenced measures aren’t the best tool for fine-grained progress monitoring, so they’re usually supplemented with other types of measures.