Criterion-referenced assessment
Criterion-referenced assessment judges work against defined standards of what a student should know or be able to do, rather than against how other students performed.
What is criterion-referenced assessment?
Criterion-referenced assessment judges a student's work against a fixed description of what they should know or be able to do. Every student who meets the criteria earns the mark, regardless of how anyone else performed - which is what distinguishes it from norm-referenced assessment, where results are set relative to the cohort.
The distinction is about what a mark is compared to. In criterion-referenced assessment the comparison is to a standard: the mark scheme says what a four-mark answer contains, and any answer containing it earns four marks. In norm-referenced assessment the comparison is to other candidates: a fixed proportion receives each grade, so a student's result depends on the cohort around them.
Why it matters to teachers
Criterion referencing is what makes a mark explainable. A student can be shown the criterion they did not meet and what meeting it would have looked like, which is the basis of useful feedback. It also means a whole class can improve - if every student meets the criteria, every student earns the marks - whereas norm referencing guarantees that some will always be at the bottom regardless of how well they did.
The mixed reality of national qualifications
In practice British qualifications are mostly criterion-referenced at the marking stage and partly norm-informed at the grading stage. Marks are awarded against published criteria, but grade boundaries are then set with reference to statistical evidence about the cohort so that standards remain comparable between years. Both ideas are present, at different points in the process.
Key takeaways
- Criterion-referenced assessment compares work to a defined standard, not to other students.
- Norm-referenced assessment distributes results relative to the cohort.
- Criterion referencing is what makes an individual mark explainable and improvable.
- British qualifications mark against criteria but set grade boundaries with cohort evidence in view.
Frequently asked questions
Is GCSE criterion-referenced or norm-referenced?
Both, at different stages. Answers are marked against published criteria in the mark scheme, which is criterion referencing. Grade boundaries are then set each year using statistical evidence about the cohort alongside examiner judgement, so that a grade means the same thing from one year to the next.
Why does criterion referencing matter for feedback?
Because it gives feedback something concrete to point at. "You placed in the middle of the class" tells a student nothing they can act on; "you did not support this point with evidence from the text, which the criteria require" tells them exactly what to do differently.
Related terms
Mark scheme
A mark scheme is the document that sets out how marks are awarded for each question in an assessment - the answers or qualities that earn credit, and how many marks each is worth.
Assessment objectives
Assessment objectives are the categories of skill a qualification tests - commonly labelled AO1, AO2 and AO3 - each carrying a defined share of the available marks.
Grade boundaries
Grade boundaries are the minimum marks required for each grade in a qualification, set after marking so that a grade means the same thing from one year to the next.
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