Objective standard setting (or truth in advertising)

Over the past 40 years criterion referencing has become the major method for setting passing standards on most high-stakes examinations. This paper serves three purposes. First it reveals the limitations and methodological weaknesses of most popular standard setting models, supported by a large volume of prior investigation. Second, it presents a radically different approach to the question of setting standards. The new model called Objective Standard Setting was developed in the early 1990s and has been successfully practiced in a variety of settings since that time. While presented in educational forums for many years, this paper represents the first published account of its methods. Thirdly,suggestions for new considerations of validity in standard setting are addressed. There port concludes with the suggestion that however well-intentioned popular standard setting efforts may be, psychometric experts must more carefully and fully understand the models behind their practices and the validity, meaning and implications of their thought processes.