Criterion-referenced evaluations come in a variety of formats and are scored in a number of different ways. The most common form of criterion-referenced score is giving a grade for performance. Checklists are another way to gather information about someone's performance and to discern how well she performs on the items included on the list. A more complex method for designing criterion-referenced evaluation is to develop a rubric that is a tool that allows scoring performance based on specific criteria related to the topic to be learned. Rating scales and determining percent of accuracy are other common ways to measure criterion-based performance.
Instructors are often required to use criterion-referenced assessment tools to evaluate the quality of their instruction. The logic is that effective instruction results in appropriate learning. Measuring effective instruction means defining learning objectives such as naming the letters of the alphabet. Once objectives are set, instructional strategies are applied and an evaluation is administered to determine the quality of learning. Instruction-based, criterion-referenced evaluations are a quick and effective method for identifying what students know and don't know. If the objective is related to mastery-oriented content, criterion-referenced evaluation is effective at determining whether the content learned is at the level of mastery.
Criterion-referenced instruction, based on a set of learning objectives or focused on mastery of content, affects the bell curve principles. Instruction that is focused toward learners mastering content results in a bell curve shape that is skewed to the right. This phenomenon is the result of expecting all learners to succeed in reaching the learning objectives. Criterion-referenced assessments that focus on mastery of learning, are less likely to set learners up to compete against one another. They also teach cooperation.
Today's schools are becoming more and more accountable for student learning. Criterion-referenced evaluation systems have become the standard. Statewide assessment programs are designed to identify individual performance and to compare learners to a standard or criterion performed at a proficiency level. Standardized criterion-reference evaluations have a cut-off score that is called passing. A committee of experts sets the cut-off score for standardized criterion-referenced evaluation. Generally, standardized criterion-referenced tests are built upon an idea about what learners at certain levels ought to know. They are not based on specific curricula.