69´«Ă˝

Assessment Report Roundup

How NAEP Works

By Kathleen Kennedy Manzo — October 30, 2007 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

Understanding NAEP: Inside the Nation’s Education Report Card

A attempts to unravel the complexities of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the federally sponsored testing program that has gauged student achievement in core subjects for nearly 40 years.

Education Sector, the Washington-based think tank that produced the report, outlines the history and purpose of the assessment program, as well as the appropriate uses and interpretations of NAEP’s test data.

The 17-page online guide says it describes “how the assessment is designed, how its scores are calculated and what they mean, and what controversies surround the reporting and use of NAEP data. It seeks to set straight what conclusions can and cannot be legitimately drawn from the NAEP assessment and examines what challenges lay ahead for the â€nation’s report card’ in an era of increased accountability.”

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the October 31, 2007 edition of Education Week

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69´«Ă˝
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Assessment Massachusetts Voters Poised to Ditch High School Exit Exam
The support for nixing the testing requirement could foreshadow public opinion on state standardized testing in general.
3 min read
Tight cropped photograph of a bubble sheet test with  a pencil.
E+
Assessment This School Didn't Like Traditional Grades. So It Created Its Own System
Principals at this middle school said the transition to the new system took patience and time.
6 min read
Close-up of a teacher's hands grading papers in the classroom.
E+/Getty
Assessment Opinion 'Academic Rigor Is in Decline.' A College Professor Reflects on AP Scores
The College Board’s new tack on AP scoring means fewer students are prepared for college.
4 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Assessment Opinion 69´«Ă˝ Shouldn't Have to Pass a State Test to Graduate High School
There are better ways than high-stakes tests to think about whether students are prepared for their next step, writes a former high school teacher.
Alex Green
4 min read
Reaching hands from The Creation of Adam of Michelangelo illustration representing the creation or origins of of high stakes testing.
Frances Coch/iStock + Education Week