Timeline for National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Assessments from 1969 to 2017

• Assessment Schedule 1969-2017
• Notes on Assessment Schedule
• Assessment Policy

This schedule of NAEP assessments assumes continuing legislative authority; also, the schedule may be augmented, with advance public notice, as resources permit. The schedule through 2017 was approved by the National Assessment Governing Board on December 3, 2011.

NAEP Assessment Schedule 1969-2017

All main, state, and TUDA assessments take place from January through March. All long-term trend assessments take place from October through May. Results for NAEP assessments are reported in The Nation's Report Card. Results are published for math, reading, science, and writing assessments six months to a year after the assessment is complete. The writing assessments from 2011 onwards will be administered totally on computer, as will the assessment in technology and education literacy in 2014.

¹ The High School Transcript Study collects high school transcripts of high school seniors who graduated the year that the study was conducted.

² An updated or new framework is planned for implementation in this subject. In the case of subjects for which frameworks are already adopted, the Board will decide whether a new or updated framework is needed for this assessment year. Note: The new framework for Mathematics 2009 was adopted for grade 12 only.

³ For 2009, there was a pilot study of twelfth-grade state-level results, for which eleven states volunteered.

⁴ After the 1999 long-term trend in science, it was determined that technical studies are required to enable necessary changes to the design and revisions to the item pool in order to maintain the long-term trend in this subject. New items will be developed and field tested for use in future assessments. For that reason, the science long-term trend assessment will not be given in 2004. For more information, see the National Assessment Governing Board policy  (55 KB) on long-term trend assessments.

⁵ After 1996, long-term trend in writing was no longer reported because of technical reasons having to do with the relatively small number of writing prompts. See remarks by the commissioner.

⁶ State assessments in 1990–94 were referred to as trial state assessments (TSA).

⁷ This was a small, special-interest assessment administered to limited national samples at specific grades or ages and was not part of a main assessment. Note that this chart includes only assessments administered to in-school samples; not shown are several special NAEP assessments of adults.

⁸ This assessment appears in reports as part of long-term trend. Note that the civics assessment in 1988 is the third point in trend with citizenship/social studies in 1981-82 and in 1975-76. There are no points on the trend line for writing before 1984.

⁹ The 1986 long-term trend reading assessment is not included on the trend line in reports because the results for this assessment were unusual. Further information on this reading anomaly is available in Beaton and Zwick (1990).

¹⁰ Explanation of format for year column: Before 1984, the main NAEP assessments were administered in fall of one year through spring of the next. Beginning with 1984, the main NAEP was administered after the new year in winter, although the assessments to measure long-term trend continued with their traditional administration in fall, winter, and spring. Because the main assessment is the largest component of NAEP, beginning with 1984 we have listed its administration year rather than the two years over which trend continued to be administered. Note also that the state component is administered at essentially the same time as the main NAEP.

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Assessment Policy

NAEP assessments began in 1969; the state assessments began in 1990. The Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) began in 2002. State results are released at the same time as the national results; district results are reported separately several weeks later.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Act of 2001 requires that NAEP:

• must administer reading and mathematics assessments for grades 4 and 8 every other year in all states;
• 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;
• must administer long–term trend assessments in reading and mathematics at ages 9, 13, and 17 (following the Governing Board policy  (55 KB) for the long–term trend assessments); and
• 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," provided funds are available.

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