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The Nation's Report Card |
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) |
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Referred to as the Nation’s Report Card, the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) tests are the only achievement tests given to students in every state. The tests allow the only comparison among states. But not ever student is tested, just a representative sample. Since 1969, NAEP assessments have been conducted periodically in reading, mathematics, science, writing, U.S. history, civics, geography, and other subjects. NAEP collects and reports information on student performance at the national, state, and local levels, making the assessment an integral part of our nation’s evaluation of the condition and progress of education. Only academic achievement data and related background information are collected. The privacy of individual students and their families is protected. Participation in the NAEP was voluntary for states until the passage of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which requires all states to test students in the fourth and eight grades every two years. NAEP is a congressionally authorized project of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education. The Commissioner of Education Statistics is responsible for carrying out the NAEP project. The National Assessment Governing Board oversees and sets policy for NAEP. Whereas each state also administers its own state tests in reading, math and sometimes other subjects. The state tests can cover different skills than the national exam. NAEP is a survey assessment, so results are based on a sample of students in a school or district. Each student takes a small part of the overall assessment (about 25%), so only when the scores are aggregated for groups of students are the data considered valid and reliable estimates of what students know and can do in the content area. Which Subjects Are TestedEach year, NAEP decides which subject matter to test. For example, in 2010 NAEP administered assessments in civics, geography, and US history. A student is assessed in only one of the three content areas. Questions
Finding the ScoresInterpreting the NAEP scores is not easy. The NAEP Web site page entitled State Profiles presents key data about each state's performance in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in mathematics, reading, writing, and science for grades 4 and 8. You can quickly see how a state performed over time, view a state’s demographics, download snapshot reports, and compare each state’s overall performance to the nation and each other. It is inappropriate to compare scores across subjects. The Oregon Department of Education (OED) also has information about NAEP and you can view the scores from 1998 to the latest tests at the ODE Web site. |
2011 Results for Math and Reading
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On the whole compared to 2009, the new data showed small improvements in math and relatively flat scores in reading. In Oregon, scores held steady compared to 2009 with no significant improvements or declines. State Superintendent Susan Castillo said of the results, “While we didn’t see drastic changes from the previous NAEP results, we are not seeing the improvements in student performance that we know Oregon needs in order to compete nationally and internationally.” The Oregon Chalk Board had this to say on their Web site about the 2011 results, "Indeed, looking further back to 2003 some states have made substantial progress, particularly for their low income students, while Oregon has not." The Oregon Chalk Board blog has a table showing results of the tests that is easy to understand and you can read it by clicking here. 2011 Math Test ResultsNationally representative samples of 209,000 fourth-graders and 175,200 eighth-graders participated in the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in mathematics. At each grade, students responded to questions designed to measure what they know and can do across five mathematics content areas: number properties and operations; measurement; geometry; data analysis, statistics, and probability; and algebra. Each state and jurisdiction that participated in the NAEP 2011 mathematics assessment receives a one-page snapshot report that presents key findings and trends in a condensed format. The reports in this series present bulleted text describing overall student results, bar charts showing NAEP achievement levels for each year in which the state participated, and tables displaying results by gender, race/ethnicity, and eligibility for free/reduced-price lunch. In addition, bulleted text describes the trends in average scale score gaps for gender, race/ethnicity, and eligibility for free/reduced-price lunch. A map comparing the average score in 2011 to other states/jurisdictions is also displayed.
2011 Reading Test ResultsNationally representative samples of 213,100 fourth-graders and 168,200 eighth-graders participated in the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in reading. At each grade, students responded to questions designed to measure their reading comprehension across two types of texts: literary and informational. That seems to contradict recent results from Oregon's state reading tests, which have shown more and more student reaching grade-level reading benchmarks in elementary and middle school. But state officials concede the national results are correct. Each state and jurisdiction that participated in the NAEP 2011 reading assessment receives a one-page snapshot report that presents key findings and trends in a condensed format. The reports in this series present bulleted text describing overall student results, bar charts showing NAEP achievement levels for each year in which the state participated, and tables displaying results by gender, race/ethnicity, and eligibility for free/reduced-price lunch. In addition, bulleted text describes the trends in average scale score gaps for gender, race/ethnicity, and eligibility for free/reduced-price lunch. A map comparing the average score in 2011 to other states/jurisdictions is also displayed.
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