Standardized norm-referenced tests have been much maligned in recent years. They differ from criterion referenced tests in that the latter involve assessment in comparison to an absolute standard or specific performance objective while in a norm-referenced test assessment is made in comparison to other students taking the same test. Standardized tests can be abused in some of the following ways: failing to recognize limitations within the testing situation that obscure the "true" level of competence; making decisions on the assumption that the score derived from the test tells all; making decisions on the assumption that reading and intelligence tests measure exclusive domains; assuming that a standardized test can give specific direction to an instructional program; interpreting results without reference to the composition of the norm group; making the assumption that anyone below the 50th percentile is a disabled learner; and treating a grade score on a reading test as a functional reading level. However, standardized tests do have many positive uses: as an accountability check, as a screening device to determine further diagnostic needs, and as a way to generate hypotheses regarding instructional needs. (MKM)