Which of the following is an example of a criterion-referenced measure?

• A. Bayley-III
• B. ASQ-3
• C. PDMS-2 mastery criteria
• D. PedsQL

Answer: (C)

Criterion-referenced measures judge performance against fixed criteria rather than against how others perform. In the PDMS-2, each motor skill item has explicit mastery criteria that define what the child must demonstrate to be considered to have mastered the item. The examiner determines pass or fail by whether the child meets those predefined standards, not by comparing the child’s overall score to a normative group. This lets you decide if the child has achieved a specific skill and can track progress over time.

Other tools typically rely on normative comparisons or screening cutoffs, which tell you how a child measures up against a reference group or flag potential concerns, rather than confirming whether a particular skill has been mastered.