Which form of assessment compares a student's performance to a standard or benchmark?

The correct answer, which focuses on comparing a student's performance to a standard or benchmark, is criterion-referenced assessment. This type of assessment is designed to evaluate whether each student has met specific learning standards or objectives. Criterion-referenced assessments are often used to determine if students have acquired the necessary skills or knowledge based on predefined criteria, rather than comparing their performance to that of other students.

In contrast, norms-referenced assessments compare a student's performance to that of a larger group, often providing a score that places the student within a distribution of scores. While formative assessments evaluate student learning to inform instruction during the learning process, and summative assessments measure student learning at the end of an instructional unit, they are not primarily focused on comparing performance to specific standards.

Thus, criterion-referenced assessments are the appropriate choice when the focus is on measuring student performance against established benchmarks.