The sample of students that was assessed in order to estimate how well the general student population would perform on a particular assessment procedure. A norm group should be as representative as possible of the general population. The norm group should represent the population on dimensions such as ethnicity, socio-economic status, size of school system, location (urban, suburban, rural), and geographic region of the country.
A norm group is a sample of students taken from across the country, representative of the national demographic population. In a norm-referenced test, this group takes the test originally and their results are used as a basis for comparison in subsequent test administrations.