Frequently Asked Questions
What
is the NAEP Assessment?
What will
participation in NAEP mean for my child?
How can I get
more information, ask questions, or make comments?
FAQ About
NAEP Sampling
·
How does NAEP select
the schools and the students for the assessments?
·
Why
are some schools always selected?
·
Who is assessed by
NAEP?
What
is the "No Child Left Behind Act" and how does it
relate to the release of the current assessment?
The No Child Left Behind Act was signed into legislation in January 2002 and reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). Under this legislation, the Commissioner of Education Statistics is to conduct national and state NAEP assessments at least every two years in reading and mathematics in grades 4 and 8. These assessments must be conducted in the same year. In addition, national assessments in reading and mathematics in grade 12 are to be conducted at regularly scheduled intervals, and state assessments may be.
To the extent that time and money allow, NAEP will be conducted in grades 4, 8, and 12 at regularly scheduled intervals in additional subjects including writing, science, history, geography, civics, economics, foreign language, and arts.
Further information is available on the NAEP site.
How
many schools and students participate in NAEP?
The number of students selected to be in a NAEP sample depends on whether it is a national-only sample or a combined state and national sample. In the national-only sample, there are approximately 10,000 to 20,000 students. In a combined national and state sample, there are approximately 3,000 students per participating jurisdiction from approximately 100 schools. Typically, 45 to 55 jurisdictions participate in such an assessment.
NAEP has always endeavored to assess all students selected as a part of its sampling process, including students who are classified by their schools as students with disabilities (SD) and/or as English-language learners (ELL) or limited English proficient (LEP). (LEP students are sometimes called English language learners). The decision to exclude any of these students is made by school personnel. School personnel are encouraged to use inclusion criteria provided by NAEP and may discuss their inclusion decisions with NAEP field staff. Some students may participate with testing accommodations.
According to the current criteria, a student with a disability is to be included in the NAEP assessment except in the following cases:
1.
The student's
IEP team determines that the student cannot
participate; OR,
2.
The student's
cognitive functioning is so severely impaired that she or he cannot participate;
OR,
3.
The student's
IEP requires that the student has to be tested with an
accommodation or adaptation that NAEP does not allow (see the list of NAEP accommodations).
Read more about the NAEP inclusion policy.
Sample questions can be accessed through the links in the navigation bar on the left-hand side of this page. Access to the NAEP Questions Tool is available through the Downloads and Tools page.
Achievement is reported in two ways: as scale scores and as achievement levels.
Average scale scores are derived from the overall level of performance of groups of students on NAEP assessment items. NAEP subject area average scale scores are typically expressed on 0-500 (reading, mathematics, history, and geography) or 0-300 (science, writing, and civics) scales. When used in conjunction with interpretive aids, such as item maps, they provide information about what a particular aggregate of students in the population knows and can do. (See the Downloads and Tools page for access to the NAEP item maps.)
Achievement levels are performance standards set by the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) that provide a context for interpreting student performance on NAEP, based on recommendations from panels of educators and members of the public.
The levels, which include Basic, Proficient, and Advanced, measure what students should know and be able to do at each grade assessed. See subject-specific information on the NAEP website for a detailed description of what students should know and be able to do at each level at grade 4, 8, or 12.
NAEP provides results about subject-matter achievement, instructional experiences, and school environment and reports these results for populations of students (e.g., fourth-graders) and groups of those populations (e.g., male students or Hispanic students). NAEP does not provide individual scores for the students or schools assessed.
Because NAEP scales are developed independently for each subject, scale score and achievement level results cannot be compared across subjects. However, these reporting metrics greatly facilitate performance comparisons within a subject from year to year and from one group of students to another in the same grade.
Federal law specifies that NAEP is voluntary for every student, school, school district, and state. However, federal law also requires all states that receive Title I funds to participate in NAEP reading and mathematics assessments at fourth and eighth grades. Similarly, school districts that receive Title I funds and are selected for the NAEP sample are also required to participate in NAEP reading and mathematics assessments at fourth and eighth grades. All other NAEP assessments are voluntary. Learn more about NAEP and why participation is important.
Federal law also dictates complete privacy for all test takers and their families. Under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, P.L. 107-110 Title VI, Part C, Section 411 (5)(A), the Commissioner is charged with ensuring that NAEP tests do not question test-takers about personal or family beliefs or make information about their personal identity publicly available.
After publishing NAEP reports,
the
No. By design, information is not available at these levels. Reports traditionally disclose state, regional, and national results. In 2002, NAEP began to report (on a trial basis) results from several large urban districts ( Trial Urban District Assessments), after the release of state and national results. Because NAEP is a large-group assessment, each student takes only a small part of the overall assessment. In most schools, only a small portion of the total grade enrollment is selected to take the assessment and these students may not reliably or validly represent the total school population. Only when the student scores are aggregated at the state or national level are the data considered reliable and valid estimates of what students know and can do in the content area; consequently, school- or student-level results are never reported.
Since its inception in 1969, NAEP assessments have been conducted in numerous academic subjects, including mathematics, science, reading, writing, geography, U.S. history, civics, and the arts. In addition to these subjects, NAEP is developing assessments in world history, economics, and foreign language.
Beginning with the 2003 assessments, NAEP conducts national and state assessments at least once every two years in reading and mathematics in grades 4 and 8. Results from these assessments are released 6 months after administration. These assessments are conducted in the same year and initial results are released in the fall of that year. Results from all other assessments are released about one year after administration, usually in the spring of the following year.
Since 1988, the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) has selected the subjects assessed by NAEP. Furthermore, NAGB oversees creation of the frameworks that underlie the assessments and the specifications that guide the development of the assessment instruments. The framework for each subject area is determined through a collaborative development process that involves teachers, curriculum specialists, subject-matter specialists, school administrators, parents, and members of the general public.
Most state tests measure student performance on the state's own curriculum standards, i.e., on what policymakers and citizens consider important for students to know and be able to do. State tests allow comparisons of results over time within the state, and in most cases give individual student scores so that parents can know how their child is performing. State tests do not provide comparisons of results with other states or the nation. NAEP is the only assessment that allows comparison of results from one state with another, or with results for the rest of the nation. The NAEP program helps states answer such questions as: How does the performance of students in my state compare with the performance in other states with similar resources or students? How does my state's performance compare with the region's? Are my state's gains in student performance keeping up with the pace of improvement in other states? The term "proficiency" used in relation to performance on state tests does not have the same meaning as the term Proficient on the NAEP achievement levels because the criteria used to determine proficiency are different. Together, state achievement tests and NAEP help educators and policymakers have a comprehensive picture of student performance.
What is the
NAEP Assessment?
NAEP, or the National Assessment of Educational Progress,
is often called the "Nation's Report Card." It is the only measure of student
achievement in the
Does
NAEP replace the state tests that my child takes every
year?
No.
The achievement tests that your state requires each year are different from NAEP
assessments.
Why
do we need both the state achievement tests and
NAEP?
Most state tests measure student performance on the state's
own curriculum standards, i.e. what the state considers important for their
students to know and be able to do. State tests allow comparisons of results
over time within the state, and in most cases give individual student scores so
that parents can know how their child is performing. State tests do not provide
comparisons of results with other states or the nation.
NAEP is the only assessment that allows you to compare
results from one state with those of another, or with results for the rest of
the nation. NAEP helps states answer such questions as: How does the performance
of students in my state compare with the performance in other states with
similar resources or students? How does my state's performance compare with the
region's? Are my state's gains in student performance
keeping up with the pace of improvement in other states?
Together, state achievement tests and NAEP help educators
and policymakers have a comprehensive picture of student performance.
Why
does my state participate in NAEP?
One
reason a state chooses to participate in NAEP is that it considers NAEP data to
be a valuable source of information. Some states use NAEP results to supplement
the information they get from their own tests. NAEP permits your state to
directly compare how it performs relative to the nation and other states. Since
1992, more than 40 states have participated in every state NAEP assessment.
Another reason for state participation was new for NAEP
2003. The No Child
Left Behind legislation passed by the U.S. Congress in 2001 requires
that states receiving federal "Title I" education funds participate in NAEP reading and mathematics
assessments at grades 4 and 8 every two years (view the assessment
schedule).
How
many schools in my state have been selected?
In
a typical state, 100 schools are selected in grade 4, and 100 schools in grade
8. These schools are selected to represent the demographic and geographic
composition of the state. Get more
information about how schools are selected and how NAEP is administered.
Your child was randomly selected to participate. Your child
represents students in your state attending schools with similar
characteristics.
Within a selected school and grade, 25 to 30 students are
chosen for each subject tested. All of the data from selected students from all
of the schools are then combined to represent all students in the state. The
participation of every student selected helps ensure the most accurate measure
of student performance in your state
and the
nation.
Does
my child have to take NAEP?
No.
Unlike your state's assessment, which is mandatory for students, NAEP is
voluntary for students. However, your child represents hundreds of students in
your state. If all selected students participate, NAEP provides a very accurate
measurement of your state's overall achievement.
States want their NAEP results to be accurate and fair
indicators of how well their students are doing. The results are widely
publicized. Your state's performance on NAEP is often presented in comparison
with that in other states and the nation, as is the progress that your state
makes from one NAEP assessment year to another. Your state board of education
and your legislature use the NAEP results for planning programs to address
specific needs in your state. The amount of federal funding that your state
receives may also be affected by participation in NAEP.
Learn more
about why your participation in NAEP is important.
What
types of questions are asked on NAEP?
A
NAEP assessment is divided into two sections: subject-specific test questions
and questions about student backgrounds and educational experiences.
Ÿ
Test questions are
asked to measure fourth-, eighth-, twelfth-graders' knowledge and skills in a
variety of subjects, including reading, mathematics, writing, science, U.S. history, geography, civics, and the arts. Each of these
subjects is tested periodically, and students are asked questions on only one
subject per assessment.
Ÿ
Background questions
are asked to get information about students' gender, race and ethnicity, and
other topics. The questions are required by Congress to provide a more
informative picture of how different groups of students are performing. NAEP is
prohibited by law from asking about personal or family beliefs and
attitudes.
The
questions are either multiple choice, where the students choose from a few
possible answers, or open-ended format, where the students write their own
responses. By law, all NAEP questions are secular, neutral, and
non-ideological.
To
see background questions and examples of test questions previously asked on
NAEP, view the demonstration
booklets. A sample booklet was available for viewing at your child's school
if it was selected to participate. Also, more than a thousand sample test
questions are available in the NAEP Questions Tool.
Additional information is collected from the principals and
teachers at participating schools. Information about classroom practices,
teacher training, school environment, and other topics provide a better
understanding of the environment in which students learn. You can view all background questions
for the 2003 assessment on the NAEP web site or in your child's school if it
was selected to participate.
Does
my child have to answer all of the questions?
No.
Children do not have to answer any question on NAEP with which they are
uncomfortable, and can stop taking the assessment at any time. NAEP does not ask
about personal or family beliefs and attitudes.
Will
my child's answers be kept confidential?
Yes. Your child's name will not be associated with the
completed assessment booklet. After students complete the assessment, their
names are physically removed from the booklets and are never associated with the
booklet or a test score.
The
assessment is confidential. It is against federal law to identify any student
participating in NAEP. The law specifies severe penalties for anyone revealing
the identity of the children taking NAEP. In its 30-year history, that security
has never been broken.
Will
taking NAEP affect my child's grade?
No.
NAEP does not calculate individual students' scores. Just as the government does
not have access to information about how your child performs on NAEP, neither
does your school, nor your child's teacher.
Will
I get to see the results of my child's test?
No.
There are no individual student results. Instead, NAEP combines all student
responses to provide information on the performance of groups of students. NAEP
reports overall results for the nation, the states, and for groups of students,
such as males and females.
Find out how your state performed by clicking on your state
in the NAEP State
Profiles. If you'd like to explore the results in more detail, either visit
the major results pages for mathematics,
reading,
and other subjects, or use the NAEP Data Tool.
How
long does the NAEP assessment take?
From beginning to end, NAEP assessments take less than 90
minutes. This includes setting up, taking the assessment, and getting back to
instructional activities.
Will
my child have to leave the classroom to take NAEP?
In
schools where all students are included in the assessment, NAEP is given in the
classroom. In other schools, NAEP works with school officials to find the most
appropriate place to give the assessment.
Will
my child's teacher spend class time helping students get ready for
NAEP?
No.
Special preparation is not necessary or expected. There are no scores for
individual students or schools, so teachers do not have an incentive to help
students practice for any NAEP test.
What
are the benefits to my child for taking the
assessment?
NAEP is an important measure of student achievement that
can help ensure our children are receiving the best education possible. Parents
or guardians, educators, and policymakers at the local, state, and national
levels can learn a lot from the results of NAEP assessments. This information
will help them to make decisions about education now and in the future. If your
child has been selected to participate, he or she will help provide the most
accurate picture of how students are performing in your state.
Participating in NAEP may also be personally helpful to
your child. Students and teachers have reported that taking a NAEP assessment
helps to sharpen test-taking skills. NAEP provides an opportunity to practice
answering high-quality questions in a low-stress environment. NAEP does not
count toward a student's grade, and does not provide individual results for
students or schools. Children do not need to spend any time preparing for NAEP,
and do not need to worry if they do not finish the assessment or do not know an
answer to a question.
Read more about
NAEP and about why your
child's participation is important.
Where
can I see the assessment that my child will take?
Demonstration
booklets containing sample test questions and all background questions are
available on the NAEP web site. In addition, more than a thousand released NAEP
questions are on the NAEP web site in the easy-to-use NAEP Questions Tool.
These sources provide you with a very good picture of the
assessment that your child may take. However, you may arrange to see the actual
test questions on this year's assessment. To view assessment questions that have
not yet been made public, please contact your NAEP State Coordinator, whose name
can be found through your state's profile, or send a
written request to the National Assessment
Governing Board (NAGB) either by e-mailing NAGB@ed.gov or by
mailing to:
National Assessment Governing Board
There are about 3,000 people nationwide who administer the
assessment. Many of these individuals are retired teachers. All NAEP
administrators undergo rigorous security clearances. They are also trained in
confidentiality and security procedures. In all cases, teachers are encouraged
to remain in the testing area with their students.
Your state also has a NAEP coordinator, who helps answer
questions about NAEP and who communicates with NAEP administrators. To find your
NAEP State Coordinator, select your state or other jurisdiction from the NAEP State Profiles.
May
my child with disabilities participate in NAEP? His/her IEP does not specifically address
NAEP.
The
decision to include students with disabilities in NAEP assessments is made by
school personnel, who decide whether students can meaningfully be assessed with
or without accommodations based on information in a student's Individualized
Education Program (IEP). Generally, children who are
included in the state or local testing program are included in NAEP, if
selected.
Special-needs students use the same accommodations in NAEP
assessments that they use in their usual classroom testing unless the
accommodation would make it impossible to measure the ability, skill, or
proficiency being assessed (for instance, reading aloud to a student in a
reading assessment) or the accommodation is not possible for the NAEP program to
administer. For instance, extending testing over several days is not used for
NAEP because NAEP administrators are in each school only one day. Some of the
most common NAEP accommodations for students with disabilities are large-print
books, extended time, small-group or one-on-one testing, oral reading of
directions, and use of an aide for transcribing responses.
English
is not my child's native language. Will he or she be able to take
NAEP?
Probably. NAEP
tries to be as inclusive as possible. If a child has received academic
instruction in English for three years or more (including the present year), he
or she is expected to participate in NAEP if selected. Students with fewer than
three years of English instruction should also participate in NAEP if selected,
unless their school decides they are incapable of participating in the
assessment in English. Sometimes accommodations are allowed. One of the most
common accommodations for students classified as limited English proficient
(LEP) is extended time to answer assessment questions.
May
my child take NAEP if he or she was not selected?
No.
Through a careful process, NAEP selects the smallest number of students possible
that are needed to represent your state fairly and accurately. This way, the
time and effort of participants and administrators are kept at a minimum, and
NAEP is able to obtain an accurate and useful measure of student performance.
Where
can I get additional information?
There are several ways to get more information about NAEP.
The NAEP web site, for example, has a lot of information about the assessment.
The web site is updated frequently, so please check back often. If your child
was selected for NAEP, the principal in your child's school was given
information before the assessment, and your state's NAEP Coordinator also has
information about NAEP. You'll find the name of your State Coordinator in your
state's profile or by
calling (202) 502-7420. You may also contact Sherran
Osborne in the U.S. Department of Education at sherran.osborne@ed.gov or (202) 502-7420.
What
if I want to make suggestions about the assessment?
Your suggestions are welcomed because they help us improve
NAEP to better serve the children and teachers who give their time in taking the
tests. Your questions also help NAEP as it tries to provide the best information
possible to state education leaders, the U.S. Department of Education, and
Congress. Your comments can be made through the NAEP web site's Contact Us, by
contacting your NAEP State Coordinator (find your coordinator in the NAEP State Profiles), or by
calling Sherran Osborne at NCES, (202) 502-7420.
We
hope that these resources will address any questions or concerns you may have.
If, however, you do not feel that your concerns have been adequately resolved,
you may file a formal complaint by writing to the National
Assessment Governing Board (NAGB). Send e-mail to
NAGB@ed.gov or mail
NAGB at:
National Assessment Governing Board
Include a description of your complaint, along with your
name and your mailing address. NAGB will send you a
letter in the mail acknowledging receipt of your complaint. It will then be
considered through a formal review process. At the conclusion of this process,
you will be sent a written response by mail. For more information on the NAEP
complaint review process, please go to http://www.nagb.org/release/policies_procedures.doc (Microsoft
Word document).
What
is the schedule for NAEP?
National Assessment of Educational
Progress
Schedule of
Assessments
|
| |||
|
Year |
National
Assessment |
State
Assessment |
When
Administered |
|
2005 |
Reading |
Reading |
January-March
2005 |
|
2006 |
|
|
January-March
2006 |
|
2007 |
Reading (4 and 8
only) |
Reading |
January-March
2007 |
NOTE: The assessment schedule is based on
conservative estimates of costs and anticipated appropriations.
Who
is assessed by NAEP?
Ÿ
NAEP assesses
representative samples of students in certain grades or at certain ages in
public and nonpublic schools in the
Ÿ
For the national
assessments, NAEP samples students from grades 4, 8, and 12 in public and
nonpublic schools.
Ÿ
For long-term trend
assessments, NAEP samples students at ages 9, 13, and 17.
Ÿ
For the state
assessments, NAEP samples students from grades 4 and 8 and assesses students in
reading, mathematics, writing, and science. As part of the No Child Left Behind legislation, NAEP
assesses fourth- and eighth-grade students every 2 years in reading and
mathematics (beginning in 2003).
Ÿ
NAEP does not provide scores for individual
students; instead it offers results regarding subject-matter achievement,
instructional experiences, and school environment for populations of students
(e.g., grade 4) and subgroups of those populations (e.g., female students,
Hispanic students). NAEP results are based on samples of these student
populations of interest.
How
many students are selected for the state and national
assessments?
Ÿ
For the state assessments, NAEP samples
approximately 2,500 to 3,000 students in the state in each grade for each
subject area. To do this, NAEP samples about 100 to 200 schools in the state at
each grade (4 and 8), and students are sampled within those schools.
Ÿ
From each school, NAEP samples 30 students for
each subject. In 2005, 60 students
were sampled from each school in states not participating in the science
assessment, and 90 students were assessed from each school in states
participating in all three state subject assessments—reading, mathematics and
science.
At grade 4, schools could elect to assess all students (up to
120).
Ÿ
In 2005, sample sizes for reading, mathematics,
and science assessments were increased in four states.
Ÿ
Ten urban districts
participated in the Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) in 2005.
The sampling design for TUDA districts provides
for oversampling. For the four largest TUDA districts—
Ÿ
Students in the TUDA samples are considered part of the state and national
samples. For example, the data for
students tested in the
Ÿ
The national samples for the 2005 reading and
mathematics assessments contain the combined sample of students assessed in
reading and mathematics in each state. Beginning with the 2002 assessments,
NAEP has selected a combined sample of public schools for state and national
NAEP rather than selecting separate state and national samples. This approach
reduces the burden on states and schools by decreasing the total number of
schools participating in state and national NAEP. The full data set is analyzed
together, allowing all data to contribute to the final results, and setting a
single scale for the assessment and improving the reliability of the national
estimates.
Ÿ
The national sample
for 2005 science consists of the combined sample of students assessed in each
state that participated in the state science assessment, plus a sample of
students from the states that did not participate in the state assessment. The following states did not participate
in the science assessment:
Ÿ
The design of the 2005
national sample for science is similar to the design for 2002 (when only some
states participated in the state-by-state assessment), whereas the 2005 national
sample design for reading and mathematics is similar to the 2003 design (when
all states participated in the state-by-state
assessments).
Ÿ
A separate, national sample of nonpublic schools
is also selected for grades 4, 8, and 12. This sample is designed to produce
national estimates and estimates for the major types of nonpublic schools
(Catholic, Conservative Christian, and Lutheran).
How
does NAEP select the schools and the students for the
assessments?
Ÿ As the Nation’s Report Card, NAEP must report accurate results for populations of students and subgroups of these students (e.g., minority students, students from low-income families). To ensure accurate results, the relatively small samples of students must be truly representative of the entire student population in the nation (for the national assessments) or the state (for the state assessments)or the district (for the TUDA assessments).
Ÿ NAEP uses a multistage sampling design that relies on stratification (i.e., classification into groups having similar characteristics) to choose samples of schools and student populations. To ensure an accurate representation of public schools, the samples are randomly selected from groups of schools that have been stratified by variables such as the extent of urbanization, percentage of minority enrollment, and school level results on state achievement tests. For national assessments not involving state-by-state samples, region of the country and median household income of the area where the school is located are also used. A similar approach is used for nonpublic schools, but using somewhat different characteristics.
Ÿ NAEP selects a representative sample of students by first randomly selecting schools and then selecting the students within those schools who will participate in a given NAEP assessment. Every school has some known chance of being selected
Ÿ
for the sample. Within a
selected school, all students within a participating grade have an equal chance
of being selected. The probability of students and schools being selected into
the sample varies based on factors such as grade, subject, public and nonpublic
school status, and so on. Those
probabilities are important in producing NAEP results, and NAEP takes them into
account in the calculation of results through the process of applying sampling
weights.
Why
are some schools always selected?
Ÿ
NAEP usually
selects 100 public schools for each subject at each grade for the state’s
sample—each school would then represent about 1 percent of the students in
public schools in the grade being assessed in that state. If a school is chosen
repeatedly, typically it is because they have more than about 1 percent of the
state’s enrollment in the grade. Other schools, with about 0.5–1 percent of the
enrollment, are selected frequently though not always—however, it probably seems like always to those schools.
Why
does NAEP use sampling? What are the benefits of sampling for NAEP?
Ÿ Sampling minimizes the assessment time required per student while allowing complete coverage of the subject being assessed. In order to have a valid and reliable assessment of the NAEP content, several hundred assessment questions are needed. Testing a student on the entire collection of assessment questions that make up each NAEP assessment is too time consuming and impractical. Hence, no single student takes the entire assessment.
Ÿ Sampling produces accurate estimates of student achievement while reducing the amount of time and cost to administer and score the assessment. Administering NAEP to all students in a state or the nation would be very expensive—there are many constructed-response questions, which are very expensive to score.
Ÿ NAEP does not report data for individual students, schools, or districts—except for a few districts participating in the TUDA assessment—and, therefore, it is not necessary to assess and report results for every student in every school.
What
is matrix sampling and what are its advantages for
NAEP?
Ÿ In matrix sampling, different portions from the entire pool of assessment questions are printed in separate booklets and administered to different but equivalent samples of students. Matrix sampling allows NAEP to assess the entire subject area within a reasonable amount of testing time.
Copyright © 2005 National Center for Education
Statistics (NCES)