norms

National and Local Norms

We use local and national norms in gifted identification to compare students to their peers of the same age or grade on a local and/or national level. Norms are essential for ensuring a fair and accurate assessment of a student's ability; they play a crucial role in the process of identifying gifted individuals.

National Norms

A national norm is established using a large sample of students who match the country’s demographics, including age, gender, race, ethnicity, region, and socioeconomic status. These norms are used and research demonstrates their effectiveness in schools that reflect national diversity.

Use national norms when...

Your district represents the national demographic.
You successfully identify the top percent of the students in your school who need specialized services.
You are testing students using a universal testing program.
Or, a student is new to the school or district and was unable to be tested with their grade peers as part of a local norm sample.

Local Norms

Local norms calibrate a student’s performance to their fellow students within the same building or district. This method ensures scores are derived from a comparison group closely aligned with the local community's demographics. It's proven effective in identifying underrepresented students in gifted education.

Use local norms...

In school settings that are not representative of the US population
When universal testing of all students in a particular grade level in the district is conducted
When norming by the school building, (i.e. all students in a school or particular grade level) is desired.
When norming by a specific group (i.e. students are from a specific demographic) is desired.

Equity in Gifted Identification

With both national norms and local norming processes available, administrators of gifted programs can better identify those students who would benefit from advanced educational services resulting in increased equity in gifted identification. The option of using either national norms or local norms expands schools’ ability to identify potential.

For More Information

More information about local and national norms and instructional planning can be found in the book, "Understanding and Using the Naglieri General Ability Tests: A Call for EQUITY in Gifted Education,” designed for use with the Naglieri General Ability Tests. This companion guide helps you support students who have taken or will take the tests.