Nation’s Report Card (National Assessment of Educational Progress)
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is frequently called “The Nation’s Report Card” and it runs a website with that title, although the term has not been trademarked. NAEP began in 1964 with a grant from the Carnegie Corporation and is now run by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education. The website states that the Nation’s Report Card “is the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of what our nation’s students know and can do in subjects such as mathematics, reading, science, and writing.”
U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s National Commission on Excellence in Education produced a 1983 report, A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform. Newspapers reported in May 1983 that President Reagan, commenting on the report, said that the “nation’s report card on schooling is ‘capital U’ for unsatisfactory.” “NAEP: The Nation’s Report Card” by Gregory Anrig was published in Phi Delta Kappan in September 1983. “National Assessment of Education (sic) Progress—the nation’s report card on public education” was cited in newspapers in September 1984. “The Nation’s Report Card: National Assessment of Educational Progress” was cited in a newspaper in March 1987.
Wikipedia: National Assessment of Educational Progress
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of what American students know and can do in core subjects. NAEP is a congressionally mandated project administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education. The National Assessment Governing Board, appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Education but independent of the Department, sets policy for NAEP and is responsible for developing the framework and test specifications. The Governing Board is a bipartisan group whose members include governors, state legislators, local and state school officials, educators, business representatives, and members of the general public. Congress created the 26-member Governing Board in 1988.
NAEP results are designed to provide data on student achievement in various subjects, and are released as The Nation’s Report Card. There are no results for individual students, classrooms, or schools. NAEP reports results for different demographic groups, including gender, socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity. Assessments are given most frequently in mathematics, reading, science and writing. Other subjects such as the arts, civics, economics, geography, and U.S. history are assessed periodically.
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There are two NAEP websites: the NCES NAEP website and The Nation’s Report Card website. The first site details NAEP program holistically, while the second focuses primarily on the individual releases of data.
History
NAEP began in 1964, with a grant from the Carnegie Corporation to set up the Exploratory Committee for the Assessment of Progress in Education. The first national assessments were held in 1969. Voluntary assessments for the states began in 1990 on a trial basis and in 1996 were made a permanent feature of NAEP to be administered every two years
National Center for Education Statistics
NAEP Overview
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America’s students know and can do in various subject areas. Paper-and-pencil assessments are conducted periodically in mathematics, reading, science, writing, the arts, civics, economics, geography, U.S. history, and in Technology and Engineering Literacy (TEL). Beginning in 2017, NAEP will begin administering technology-based assessments (TBA) for mathematics, reading, and writing, with additional subjects added in 2018 and 2019.
The Nation’s Report Card
About The Nation’s Report Card
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), first administered in 1969, is the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of what our nation’s students know and can do in subjects such as mathematics, reading, science, and writing. Standard administration practices are implemented to provide a common measure of student achievement.
Teachers, principals, parents, policymakers, and researchers all use NAEP results to assess progress and develop ways to improve education in the United States. The results of NAEP are released as The Nation’s Report Card, and are available for the nation, states, and in some cases, urban districts.
NAEP is a congressionally mandated project administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES).
1 May 1983, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH), “Reagan beseeches parents to demand quality schools,” pg. 8-A, col. 2:
WASHINGTON (AP)—President Reagan, saying the nation’s report card on schooling is “capital U” for unsatisfactory, urged parents yesterday to join in a “national campaign to restore excellence in American education.”
In his weekly radio broadcast, Reagan blamed decreasing parental control and increasing federal intervention for the decline in the quality of education, which was reported last week by the National Commission on Excellence in Education.
OCLC WorldCat record
NAEP: The Nation’s Report Card.
Author: Gregory Anrig; Archie Lapointe
Edition/Format: Article Article : English
Publication: Phi Delta Kappan, v65 n1 p52-54 Sep 1983
Database: ERIC The ERIC database is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Education.
Summary:
Now managed by the Educational Testing Service, the National Assessment of Educational Progress intends to generate current and reliable information on education; to communicate information in many different forms by various media; and to help educators, parents, legislators, and concerned citizens understand how to use that information. (PB)
6 September 1984, The Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), “Keeping up with school issues is as easy as tuning in to TV” by Patricia McCormack (UPI), sec. 2, pg. 4, col. 6
The series will also report regularly on findings of the National Assessment of Education Progress—the nation’s report card on public education. This agency, NAEP, collects and assesses data on student demographics and student achievement. It is funded by Uncle Sam.
12 March 1987, Altoona (PA)
, “National literacy drive requested” (UPI), pg. A3, col. 4:
The Nation’s Report Card: National Assessment of Educational Progress
OCLC WorldCat record
Literature & U.S. History: The Instructional Experience and Factual Knowledge of High School Juniors. The Nation’s Report Card.
Author: Arthur N Applebee; Princeton NJ Educational Testing Service
Publisher: National Assessment of Educational Progress, Educational Testing Service, Rosedale Road, Princeton, NJ 08541-0001. 1987-10-00
Edition/Format: Book Book : English
Database: ERIC The ERIC database is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Education.
Summary:
The national survey reported in this document focused on 11th grade students’ knowledge of literature and U.S. history. While approximately two-thirds of the history questions were answered correctly, performance on the literature assessment was slightly lower, perhaps because some questions were asked about authors and literary works not included in high school curricula. Results indicate that students are more likely to remember information about topics in which they have a particular interest or that are related to their cultural background. Patterns of course work are directly related to students’ knowledge of history and literature. Students’ knowledge levels in both subject areas are affected by the number of topics previously studied and how recently the course was studied. Instruction in U.S. history tends to reflect traditional teaching approaches, while literature instruction tends to be differentiated in terms of students’ academic tracks. Appendices contain an explanation of the research procedures and the literature and history assessment data. Numerous tables are included. (JHP)
OCLC WorldCat record
The Nation’s Report Card: Improving the Assessment of Student Achievement. Report of the Study Group. With a Review of the Report by a Committee of the National Academy of Education.
Author: Lamar Alexander; Cambridge MA National Academy of Education; H Thomas James; Robert Glaser
Publisher: National Academy of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education, 108 Longfellow Hall, Cambridge, MA 02138 ($9.00). 1987-00-00
Edition/Format: Book Book : English
Database: ERIC The ERIC database is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Education.
Summary:
Recommendations of the Study Group on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are summarized in this report. The report is then reviewed by the National Academy of Education. The recommendations are to: (1) maintain NAEP’s continuity; (2) assess the core curriculum; (3) focus on transitional grades (4, 8, and 12) and sample out-of-school 17-year-olds, adults and private school students; (4) create an independent Educational Assessment Council, with members to be appointed by the Secretary of Education; (5) provide for add-on and school district assessments; (6) assess and provide for add-on assessment of private school students; and (7) increase federal funding to 20 to 30 million dollars per year (approximately five times the present amount). The Study Group strongly recommends that achievement data be collected on each state and the District of Columbia and that state and local assessments be linked with NAEP. Curriculum areas to be tested include higher order thinking skills; reading, writing and literacy; mathematics, science, and technology; history, geography, and civics; and special topics which are assessed occasionally. Recommendations for measurement include computer assisted testing and scaling. The National Academy of Education supports the conclusions of the Study Group, with some reservations about state-by-state comparisons. Appendices include names of subgroup participants, the list of commissioned papers, a copy of Public Law 98-511 Section 405(e), a chronology of NAEP, and a description of the Elementary/Secondary Information Data System. (GDC)
OCLC WorldCat record
Reading Objectives: 1990 Assessment. The Nation’s Report Card, the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Author: Princeton NJ National Assessment of Educational Progress; Princeton NJ Educational Testing Service
Publisher: National Assessment of Educational Progress at Educational Testing Service, Publications, Rosedale Road, Princeton, NJ 08541-0001 ($5.00 plus $1.50 postage and handling). 1989-04-00
Edition/Format: Book Book : English
Database: ERIC The ERIC database is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Education.
Summary:
Since 1969 when it was mandated by Congress, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has gathered information about the performance of 9-, 13-, and 17-year-old students in many subject areas, but most frequently in reading. Designed to reflect current developments in reading theory and research, this booklet describes the objectives used to guide the construction of the 1990 NAEP’s measurement of reading proficiency. Chapter titles include: “Design of the 1990 Reading Assessment”; (2) “Modes of Reading Comprehension”; (3) “Text Categories”; (4) “Development of Cognitive Items”; (5) “Factors Influencing Comprehension”; and (6) “Development of Background Items.” (A list of participants in the development process and sample items are attached.) (RS)
Times Herald-Record (Middletown, NY)
Pauline Liu: New scores add fuel to student-testing debate
Posted Nov. 1, 2015 at 5:49 PM
The fallout is continuing over the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Scores for the tests nicknamed “the Nation’s Report Card” were released last week.
They showed a slight dip in performance since the tests in math and reading were last given to a sampling of fourth- and eighth-graders a couple of years ago.