The Use of Grade and Age Equivalent Scores in Educational Assessment

This paper describes some of the difficulties inherent in the use of grade and age equivalent scores in educational assess-ment. The limitations discussed include the fact that these scores (a) imply a false standard against which students are routinely judged, (b) have unequal variance across content areas and grade and age groups, (c) are developed through "guessing " procedures, and (d) encourage comparison of students to inappropriate reference groups. Suggestions for the use of scores that provide more meaningful and techni-cally sound information about pupil achievement are also given. While norm-referenced instruments are not designed to provide the type of instructionally-oriented information necessary for many decisions of importance in special education, most authorities agree that such tools can make legitimate contributions to the special education assessment and decision-making process (Ben