The New Standards Reference Examination Standards-Referenced Scoring System

This report describes the procedures by which the New Standards Reference Examination system for reporting and interpreting results in terms of standards was designed and implemented. First (Section 1), the basis for standards-referenced assessment is outlined. This includes characterizations of (a) standards, (b) standards-referenced assessment, and (c) the assessment development process. In addition, it also briefly describes the methods used to evaluate the accuracy of reported scores and performance levels. Second (Section 2), the procedures used for actually setting performance standards/levels are outlined. Appendices I-VI exhibit the technical details of (a) assessment score definitions, (b) characteristics of expert judges participating in the process, (c) the process itself, and (d) the final outcomes of the process.