These tests are designed to compare individual students’ achievement to that of a “norm group,” a representative sample of his or her peers. The design is governed by the normal or bell-shaped curve in the sense that all elements of the test are directed towards spreading out the results on the curve (Monetti, 2003; NASBE, 2001; Zucker, 2003; Popham, 1999). The curve-governed design of norm-referenced tests means that they do not compare the students’ achievement to standards for what they should know and be able to do—they only compare students to other students who are assumed to be in the same norm group