criterion^1 n
an acceptable standard with which a test taker’s response, product, or
performance is compared or against which it is evaluated.
criterion^2 n
see behavioural objective
criterion measuren
(in testing) a standard against which a newly developed test (i.e. a predictor)
can be compared as a measure of its validity. A criterion measure may be
another test that is well known to be a valid measure of the same ability or
another valid indicator of performance.
see also criterion-related validity
criterion-referenced test(ing)n
a test that measures a test taker’s performance according to a part-
icular standard or criterion that has been agreed upon. The test taker
must reach this level of performance to pass the test, and a test taker’s
score is interpreted with reference to the criterion score, rather than to the
scores of other test takers, which is the case with a norm-referenced
test.
criterion referencingn
in testing, the use of descriptions of what students should be able to do
with language in order to determine the pass score in a test or informal
assessment.
criterion-related validityn
(in testing) a type of validitythat is based on the extent to which a new
test is compared or correlated with an established external criterion
measure. For example, a new test of L2 vocabulary can be validated
by correlating the test score of the new test with that of some other
criterion measure representing an identifiedconstruct(i.e. L2 vocabulary
knowledge).
Two kinds of criterion-related validity are identified: concurrent -validity
and predictive validity.
criterion variablen
another term for dependent variable
critical agen
see critical period
criterion