Policies

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

Context and Issue

In the late 1960s, the U.S. education system faced a significant challenge: the lack of consistent and reliable data on student academic achievement across the nation. Different states and school districts employed varied assessment standards and methods, creating a fragmented picture of student performance and educational outcomes. This inconsistency hindered policymakers, educators, and researchers from effectively identifying areas needing improvement and implementing uniform education reforms. The U.S. education system primarily relied on summary descriptive statistics of "input" variables, such as per pupil expenditures, attendance, number of classrooms, teacher salaries, and enrollment. Little attention was paid to "output" variables, specifically how much students were learning and the progress being made in U.S. education. This lack of focus on educational outcomes led to a gap in understanding student academic achievement and the effectiveness of educational policies and practices. Recognizing these deficiencies, Francis Keppel, then U.S. Commissioner of Education in the early 1960s, initiated the concept of a national assessment to provide technically sound and valid data regarding students' knowledge, skills, and abilities. This led to the establishment of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in 1969.

Solution

NAEP, often called The Nation’s Report Card, is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what students in public and private schools in the United States know and can do in various subjects, such as mathematics, reading, science, and more, for grades 4, 8, and 12. Administered to a representative sample of students nationwide, NAEP enables direct comparisons among states, districts, and demographic groups. The National Assessment Governing Board, an independent body, sets policy for NAEP, ensuring its relevance and integrity. The assessment process involves several stages: developing assessment frameworks, creating the assessments, selecting representative samples of participants, preparing materials, administering the assessments, scoring, and analyzing results. Over time, NAEP has transitioned from paper-and-pencil to digitally based assessments, incorporating interactive questions that reflect classroom experiences. Results are reported as NAEP Basic, Proficient, and Advanced levels, analyzed and delivered through detailed reports and online tools like The Nation’s Report Card website and tools such as the NAEP Data Explorer and Achievement Gaps Dashboard.

NAEP collects contextual information through survey questionnaires completed by students, teachers, and school administrators, providing insights into the educational environment and experiences. This robust system highlights achievement gaps, monitors progress, and supports the continuous improvement of education in the United States. Strict legal protections ensure data privacy, with severe penalties for unauthorized disclosure, maintaining the confidentiality and integrity of the data collected.

Impact

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has significantly impacted the U.S. education system by providing consistent and reliable data on student achievement, informing educational policy and practice. NAEP has revealed long-term trends, such as a 7-point increase in 9-year-olds' reading scores from 1971 to 2022 and a 15-point rise in mathematics scores from 1973 to 2022, though recent declines due to the COVID-19 pandemic highlight ongoing challenges. The program has also shed light on achievement gaps; for instance, the Black-White gap in grade 4 mathematics narrowed by six points from 1990 to 2019. The 2019 NAEP High School Transcript Study showed that graduates earned more credits (28.1 Carnegie credits in 2019 vs. 27.2 in 2009) and had higher GPAs (3.11 in 2019 vs. 3.00 in 2009). Despite these gains, the average mathematics score for 12th graders decreased by four points at higher curriculum levels from 2009 to 2019, indicating areas needing improvement. In 2014, a committee by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine evaluated the achievement levels and found them generally reasonable and consistent with other assessments like PISA and TIMSS. However, they identified the need for clear guidance to prevent misinterpretation and misuse of NAEP data. They recommended linking NAEP performance to real-world outcomes, such as college readiness, to make the results more meaningful and useful. NAEP's comprehensive data, including digitally based assessments and contextual surveys, continues to be a vital tool for advancing educational outcomes in the United States.

Analysis

NAEP has successfully provided consistent and reliable data on student achievement, but there are still barriers to education, such as ongoing achievement gaps among different demographic groups and recent declines in scores due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These issues highlight inequalities in educational opportunities and access to quality teaching. NAEP's strong framework and ability to adapt, shown by its move to digital assessments and thorough data collection, indicate it could be scaled up. However, expanding NAEP would need significant resources, careful planning, and strict data privacy measures. The right support for this expansion includes increased funding, investment in advanced digital technologies, effective logistical coordination, stringent data privacy and security measures, collaboration with stakeholders, professional development for educators, policy support, and public awareness and engagement. With these supports, NAEP could be expanded to provide more detailed insights into student achievement and help drive broader educational reforms.