A normative assessment is one in which the candidate is measured against the normal population. You may be familiar with a Normal Distribution Curve, opposite. This is the bell shaped curve which describes many natural phenomena. 68% of the population in the sample will score in the 4, 5, 6, 7 range; while 16% will score 1, 2 or 3 and the other 16% 8, 9 or 10.
Ipsative literally means "of the self" (Latin derivation), and is used in psychology as in the phrase "ipsative measure" to indicate that the measure was a self-reporting measure.
Examples of ipsative measures include questions that ask the participant to rate their preferences, or to give a score between 1 and 7 indicating how they feel about a particular statement.
In education, "ipsative assessment" is the practice of assessing present performance against the prior performance of the person being assessed. In athletics for example, a "personal best" is an ipsative assessment.
These different types of assessments become very important when selecting what type of assessment to use in a particular situation.
Ipsative type assessments should not be used in recruitment. According to experts in this field, companies should avoid using tools that talk about how a candidate is better at one thing than another. They do not compare the candidate to the outside world and are therefore not providing useful decision making information for recruitment.