We give standardized tests for many reasons and some of those reasons are the wrong ones. One reason is to be able to compare a student to a norm-referenced group nationally in the same grade and age. Standardized tests are given to show growth of a student in any given area. The tests can show where students" strengths and weaknesses are. Sometimes the tests are used to show the quality of education, which is not what they are designed to do. .
A standardized tests needs to be first put through the norm-referencing process. This process allows for the test makers to see if the test really tests what they say it does and to be able to set up the scoring tables. The norming process also tells whether or not the test is reliable and valid. The norm-referencing process helps show where a student should score and where they rank against their peers. The process has to have at least 10,000 students but it is better to have a higher number around 60,000. The test makers divide the nation up into four equal sections. Each section is then broken down in to other smaller equal sections based on different things such as socioeconomic status, ethnicity, gender, race, and others. These have to be equal across the whole nation to get a good norming sample. The test is then given to the students a few times to make sure that the test makers are getting an accurate score for each student. The test makers don't want the student to have a really good day or a really bad day they want what that student is capable of achieving. When the norm-referencing process is complete then the test can be used to make comparisons with the general school population of the nation. The comparison to other students helps teachers and administrators see how their students compare to the rest of the nation in that grade level and that age group. .
Standardized tests can be giving to show growth in students" knowledge in a content area or what that test tests.