"The Nation's Report Card," as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is often called, is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various academic subjects. Since 1969, assessments have been conducted periodically in reading, mathematics, science, writing, and other subjects. NAEP is an important part of our nation's evaluation of the condition and progress of education, because it makes available objective information on student performance. NAEP is a congressionally mandated project of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

The idea of an indicator of student achievement at the national level first emerged in 1963 when the Commissioner of Education decided to collect information on the state of the nation's schools. By 1969, NAEP was designed as a voluntary, cooperative program to answer questions such as: Are students learning more today than they did in the past? Is greater progress being made in some areas than others?

In the 1980's, NAEP was reviewed and revised to ensure that it reflected changes in instructional practices, such as greater use of open-ended responses.

In 1988, the Augustus F. Hawkins-Robert T. Stafford Elementary and Secondary School Improvements Amendments further expanded the NAEP program and authorized state assessments on a trial basis. Since then, the state assessment component of NAEP has been widely supported by the states and jurisdictions. More than 40 states, territories, and the District of Columbia have participated in each bi-annual cycle.

Under these amendments, NAEP continued to increase the emphasis on constructed response rather than multiple choice items; the use of more ancillary materials, such as calculators and other tools; and the inclusion of special studies with selected subsets of students.

The amendments also established the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), which sets policy for NAEP.

In creating an independent Governing Board, Congress established a system of checks and balances for NAEP -- NAGB, which sets policy; NCES, which administers the program; and test contractors, who develop and carry out the assessments. To make sure NAGB is widely representative, the law requires that the Board be composed of:

• Two Governors, or former Governors, of different political parties
• Two state legislators, of different political parties
• Two chief state school officers
• One superintendent of a local education agency
• One member of a state board of education
• One member of a local board of education
• Three classroom teachers representing the grade levels (4th, 8th, and 12th) at which the National Assessment is conducted
• One representative of business or industry
• Two curriculum specialists
• Three testing and measurement experts
• One nonpublic school administrator or policymaker
• Two school principals, one elementary and one secondary
• Four additional members who are representative of the general public, including parents
• The Assistant Secretary of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ex-officio)

The Improving America's Schools Act of 1994 introduced another round of design changes to expand the data that NAEP gathers. Most notably, the Act allowed state assessments as a regular feature of NAEP. NAEP collects information on special sub-samples, and encourages authentic assessments that measure student knowledge and understanding with a variety of hands-on performance tasks, such as science kits and mathematical tools.

In 2001, Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The act is tied to Title I and Title VI legislation, and requires participation in NAEP for State and Local Education Agencies that receive Title 1 funding. According to the new law:

• NAEP must administer reading and mathematics assessments for grades 4 and 8 in all states.
• In addition, NAEP must test these subjects on a nationally representative basis at grade 12 at least as often as it has done in the past, or every four years.
• While NAEP is required to administer long-term trend assessments in reading and mathematics at ages 9, 13, and 17, there is no requirement that the science and writing trend assessments be continued. NAGB will formulate policy for the long-term trend assessments.
• Provided funds are available, NAEP may conduct national and state assessments at grades 4, 8, and 12 in "additional subject matter, including writing, science, history, geography, civics, economics, foreign languages, and arts."

NAEP is conducted under congressional mandate and is directed by NCES, a separate branch of the U.S. Department of Education. NCES currently contracts with the Educational Testing Service to design instruments and conduct data analysis and reporting; Westat, Inc., to conduct sampling and data collection activities; and Pearson Educational Measurement (formerly NCS Pearson) to manage materials distribution, scoring, and data processing.

Who is sampled? Every 2 years, NAEP assesses nationally representative samples of more than 750,000 students in public and private schools in grades 4, 8, and 12. The NAEP state assessments include students from both public and private schools that are representative of schools in the participating state. Scientific sampling procedures are used to ensure reliable national, regional, and state samples.

Schools. Schools are randomly selected for NAEP based on demographic variables representative of the nation's schools. Trained NAEP contractors administer the assessments. In NAEP state assessments, the participating schools work with a coordinator designated by the respective state department of education to collect information on a statewide level.

Students. Students are selected randomly; their names are not collected. Confidentiality of all participants is ensured; names do not leave the school.

What subjects are assessed? The academic subject areas assessed vary from year to year. According to the NCLB Act, all subjects listed under National Educational goal number 3 are to be tested periodically in the National Assessment. Reading, writing, mathematics, and science are the most frequently assessed subjects. Reading and mathematics are tested every 2 years. To minimize the burden on students and schools, no student takes the entire assessment. Instead, assessment sessions are limited to 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Questionnaires are also given to students, teachers, and principals in order to obtain current information about school and instructional practices that may influence learning and student performance.

When do assessments take place? Assessments occur throughout the school year; however, most are conducted January-March. NAGB has re-examined the assessment schedule for 2003 and beyond to address the requirements of the NCLB Act. Assessments will be administered as indicated on the attached page.