National Assessment of Educational Progress
The National Assessment of Educational Progress is the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of what U.S. students know and can do in various subjects. NAEP is a congressionally mandated project administered by the National Center for Education Statistics, within the Institute of Education Sciences of the United States Department of Education. The first national administration of NAEP occurred in 1969. The National Assessment Governing Board is an independent, bipartisan board that sets policy for NAEP and is responsible for developing the framework and test specifications.The National Assessment Governing Board, whose members are appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Education, includes governors, state legislators, local and state school officials, educators, business representatives, and members of the general public. Congress created the 26-member Governing Board in 1988.
NAEP results are designed to provide group-level data on student achievement in various subjects, and are released as The Nation's Report Card. There are no results for individual students, classrooms, or schools. NAEP reports results for different demographic groups, including gender, socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity. Assessments are given most frequently in mathematics, reading, science and writing. Other subjects such as the arts, civics, economics, geography, technology and engineering literacy and U.S. history are assessed periodically.
In addition to assessing student achievement in various subjects, NAEP also surveys students, teachers, and school administrators to help provide contextual information. Questions asking about participants' race or ethnicity, school attendance, and academic expectations help policy makers, researchers, and the general public better understand the assessment results.
Teachers, principals, parents, policymakers, and researchers all use NAEP results to assess student progress across the country and develop ways to improve education in the United States. NAEP has been providing data on student performance since 1969.
NAEP uses a sampling procedure that allows the assessment to be representative of the geographical, racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity of the schools and students in the United States. Data is also provided on students with disabilities and English language learners. NAEP assessments are administered to participating students using the same test booklets and procedures, except accommodations for students with disabilities, so NAEP results are used for comparison of states and urban districts that participate in the assessment.
There are two NAEP websites: the and . The first site details the NAEP program holistically, while the second focuses primarily on the individual releases of data.
History
NAEP began in 1964, with a grant from the Carnegie Corporation to set up the Exploratory Committee for the Assessment of Progress in Education. The first national assessments were held in 1969. Voluntary assessments for the states began in 1990 on a trial basis and in 1996 were made a permanent feature of NAEP to be administered every two years. In 2002, selected urban districts participated in the state-level assessments on a trial basis and continue as the Trial Urban District Assessment.The development of a successful NAEP program has involved many, including researchers, state education officials, contractors, policymakers, students, and teachers.
Assessments
There are two types of NAEP assessments, and . This separation makes it possible to meet two objectives:- As educational priorities change, develop new assessment instruments that reflect current educational content and assessment methodology.
- Measure student progress over time.
Main
These assessments follow subject-area frameworks that are developed by the NAGB and use the latest advances in assessment methodology.
Under main NAEP, results are reported at the national level, and in some cases, the state and district levels.
National
National NAEP reports statistical information about student performance and factors related to educational performance for the nation and for specific demographic groups in the population. It includes students from both public and nonpublic schools and depending on the subject reports results for grades 4, 8, and 12.State
State NAEP results are available in some subjects for grades 4 and 8. This allows participating states to monitor their own progress over time in mathematics, reading, science, and writing. They can then compare the knowledge and skills of their students with students in other states and with the nation.The assessments given in the states are exactly the same as those given nationally. Traditionally, state NAEP was assessed only at grades 4 and 8. However, a 2009 pilot program allowed 11 states to receive scores at the twelfth-grade level.
Through 1988, NAEP reported only on the academic achievement of the nation as a whole and for demographic groups within the population. Congress passed legislation in 1988 authorizing a voluntary Trial State Assessment. Separate representative samples of students were selected from each state or jurisdiction that agreed to participate in state NAEP. Trial state assessments were conducted in 1990, 1992, and 1994. Beginning with the 1996 assessment, the authorizing statute no longer considered the state component a "trial.”
A significant change to state NAEP occurred in 2001 with the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also referred to as "No Child Left Behind" legislation. This legislation requires that states which receive Title I funding must participate in state NAEP assessments in mathematics and reading at grades 4 and 8 every two years. State participation in other subjects assessed by state NAEP remains voluntary.
Like all NAEP assessments, state NAEP does not provide individual scores for the students or schools assessed.
Trial Urban District Assessment
The Trial Urban District Assessment is a project developed to determine the feasibility of using NAEP to report on the performance of public school students at the district level. As authorized by congress, NAEP has administered the mathematics, reading, science, and writing assessments to samples of students in selected urban districts.began with six urban districts in 2002, and has since expanded to 27 districts for the 2017 assessment cycle.
Long-term trend
Long-term trend NAEP is administered to 9-, 13-, and 17-year-olds periodically at the national level. Long-term trend assessments measure student performance in mathematics and reading and allow the performance of today's students to be compared with students since the early 1970s.Although long-term trend and main NAEP both assess mathematics and reading, there are several differences between them. In particular, the assessments differ in the content assessed, how often the assessment is administered, and how the results are reported. These and other differences mean that results from long-term trend and main NAEP cannot be compared directly.
Although NAEP has been administered since the 1970's, in 2021 US DOE officials have decided to postpone the assessment in math and reading due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The reasons for postponing include the possibility of skewed student samples as well as results due to differing distance learning options and because of safety concerns for proctors and students.
Assessment schedule
NAGB sets the calendar for NAEP assessments. Please refer to the entire for all NAEP assessments since 1968 and those planned through 2017.Main NAEP assessments are typically administered over approximately six weeks between the end of January and the beginning of March of every year. Long-term trend assessments are typically administered every four years by age group between October and May. All of the assessments are administered by NAEP-contracted field staff across the country.
NAEP State Coordinators (NSC)
NAEP is conducted in partnership with states. The NAEP program provides funding for a full-time NSC in each state who serves as the liaison between NAEP, the state's education agency, and the schools selected to participate.NSCs provide many important services for the NAEP program and are responsible for:
- coordinating the NAEP administration in the state,
- assisting with the analysis and reporting of NAEP data, and
- promoting public understanding of NAEP and its resources
New digitally-based assessments (DBA)