DOE Home

Assessment & School Performance (ASP)

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

NAEP Overview

NAEP (the National Assessment of Educational Progress) is a congressionally mandated assessment that measures what Grade 4, 8, and 12 students know and can do in various subject areas. NAEP serves as an integral part of our nation's evaluation of the condition and progress of education.

NAEP assessments are used for the following:

• measuring student achievement
• tracking and reporting changes in achievement over time
• making comparisons across states
• making subgroup comparisons within a state and within the Nation
• generating important discussions about education
• evaluating the condition and progress of education
• providing a “second opinion” of achievement on state assessments
• analyzing data such as determining if the gaps in achievement among various groups are narrowing, growing, or remaining the same

Since 1969, NAEP assessments have been conducted in reading, mathematics, science, writing, U.S. history, civics, geography, and the arts. NAEP currently assesses students in Grades 4, 8, and 12—except for occasional assessments for which students are sampled by age rather than grade, such as the Long-term Trend Assessment.

NAEP began as a national assessment and, for many years, did not include state or district level components. At that time, NAEP provided a summary of student achievement scores at the national level only, not the state or district level. NAEP now provides scores for every state and selected large urban districts.

Starting in 1990, NAEP began offering states an opportunity to receive state level scores every two years. States could volunteer for NAEP to select a large enough sample of schools and students within their state to achieve reliable and valid state scores. In return, each state’s department of education recruited sampled schools and provided the staff to administer the assessment (with training and supervision by NAEP field staff). NAEP became mandatory with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB).

State NAEP

State NAEP assessments allow states to have a uniform measure to chart progress over time and compare themselves with other states with similar characteristics (e.g., population, geography, demographics). NAEP introduced state level assessments in part because states’ individual assessments made comparisons difficult and states indicated an interest in receiving state level NAEP results. Beginning in 2003, under NCLB, states are required to participate in NAEP reading and mathematics assessments in Grades 4 and 8 every two years as a condition of receiving federal Title I funding.

Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA)

In 2002, NAEP began district level assessments, [the Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA)], in selected large urban school districts on a trial basis. Five large urban districts participated that year. The group was expanded to nine in 2003, and ten in 2005. TUDA assessments occur in the same years as the state assessments (odd-numbered years). Results for the District of Columbia (included in state-level NAEP) are also reported with the other district results, making 11 districts in all.

With the passage of the NCLB legislation in 2001 (and additional NAEP legislation shortly thereafter), NAEP changed in a number of ways:

• To receive Title I funding, states must participate in NAEP assessments in reading and mathematics in Grades 4 and 8 every two years.
• School districts receiving Title I funding must participate in the state NAEP years, and the sampled schools in those districts must participate. (Schools in districts not receiving Title I funds participate voluntarily if sampled.)
• NAEP has established specific requirements and procedures for parental notification, for providing access to secure NAEP items, and for handling questions and complaints.
• NCES provides funding to states to support the employment of a NAEP State Coordinator to assist the state to participate in NAEP and report the results.
• NAEP continues to prepare and distribute reports of national and state performance, but NAEP no longer prepares a full report for each state. NAEP State Coordinators have the responsibility of preparing their state’s own reports, tailored to specific state needs.

NAEP is a criterion-referenced assessment that is designed to show how well students know a body of information and can perform skills according to specified criteria. NAEP achievement scores are reported in four categories: below Basic, Basic, Proficient, and Advanced. In addition to assessing achievement, NAEP collects information about student, teacher, and school characteristics, instructional practices, and curricula.

In order to report NAEP data, NAEP requires a participation rate of at least 85 percent of the sampled public schools in each state and at least 90% of all sampled students in each of the sampled public school. NAEP strives for high participation rates because low percentages of participation and response rates greatly reduce the amount of potentially useful information that can be reported.

Two Types of “NAEP Years”

There are two types of NAEP years: (1) State and TUDA NAEP years and (2) Other NAEP years. Some activities change depending on the type of year.

Type 1: State and TUDA NAEP Years

Starting in 2001, the odd-numbered calendar years include state-level and district-level NAEP Reading and Mathematics assessments as well as national NAEP assessments. Starting in 2005, NAEP included a third, non-mandated subject. In 2005 the third subject was science, in 2007 it was writing, and in 2009 it will be science again. The current schedule calls for alternating Writing and Science in future odd-numbered years.

Assessments at Grade 12 are national-only assessments, and generally include some or all of the same subjects as those included for Grades 4 and 8.

Type 2: Other NAEP Years

The even-numbered calendar years since 2004 have been the years in which NAEP conducts national assessments (i.e., long-term-trend assessments in reading and mathematics and/or assessments in subjects other than reading, mathematics, science, or writing). For example, in 2008 NAEP’s national assessment will include the Arts in Grade 8. The assessment will also include the Long-term Trend Assessment for students age 9, 13, and 17 and a Field Test in Reading, Mathematics, and Science in Grades 4, 8, and 12. The Long-term Trend assessment samples are selected by age rather than grade, and the assessments occur in the fall, winter, and spring. The Arts assessment and Field Tests will be administered during the regular NAEP assessment window which runs from the last week in January through the first week in March.

NAEP assessments are based on frameworks that are revised or replaced on a regular basis to keep them in line with current instructional practices. The frameworks, developed by the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), describe the theoretical basis and objectives for the assessment of student performance in a particular academic subject. Test specifications based on the frameworks provide guidelines for developing the actual items used on NAEP assessments.

Beginning in 1998, all NAEP assessments permitted necessary accommodations for students with disabilities (SD) and English Language Learners (ELL), unless the accommodations would alter the knowledge and skills being assessed.

NAEP now allows a large number of accommodations. Decisions about accommodations and inclusion/exclusion of students in NAEP are based on:

• the individual student’s individual education plan (IEP)
• the responses by school staff on student questionnaires associated with each student with disabilities and/or each student classified as an English language learner.

Because states differ in the accommodations they allow on their state assessments, NAEP State Coordinators (NSC) need to understand their state’s practices and help Westat field staff prepare for the assessments in their states.

NAEP Audiences

NSCs must communicate with a variety of stakeholders to promote understanding of NAEP. These stakeholders are seeking NAEP data to:

• further the quality of their organization
• demand accountability for performance results
• better represent the diverse interests of a group of people
• further professional or business interests.

These groups include:

• Governors
• Commissioners of Education
• Lawmakers
• School Boards, both local and state
• State Chambers of Commerce
• Teacher Education Programs
• Policymakers
• the Media
• Principals and Superintendents
• the Business Community
• Parents
• Researchers
• Educators
• Students
• State Departments of Education
• School Districts
• Curricular committees at the school, district, and state level
• the General Public

For questions & comments regarding education issues: | For questions & comments regarding this Web site: E-mail Webmaster
Accessibility | Copyright Florida Department of Education ©2005 | Privacy Statement | Public Records
Free Downloads: Acrobat Reader | Excel Viewer 2003 | Word Viewer 97/2000 | PowerPoint Viewer 2003
Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing.