Norms Because psychological measurement is relative, test scores are usually interpreted by comparison to the scores of others. Norms summarize the scores of a defined group, used for the purpose of comparison. Usually, we are interested in a population , which is represented by a sample . Norms are almost always derived from the scores of the sample, to represent the scores of the population. Local Norms describe the performance of a relatively small, specific group which may be particularly relevant for comparison.
Many tests have local norms in addition to broader national or regional norms.
The selection of norms represents a major source of controversy in testing today. Scales of Measurement Nominal . These numbers represent categories, nothing more. The numeric distance between numbers is meaningful, although the absolute size of the number is not. The order, intervals, and absolute size of numbers are significant.