More About NAEP Geography

The NAEP geography assessment presents a broad view of what America's students know and can do in geography. The assessment was developed by a committee of geography and measurement experts to capture the goals of the NAEP Geography Framework (587K PDF). The framework, which describes the goals of the assessment and what kind of exercises it ought to feature, was created by the National Assessment Governing Board through a developmental process involving teachers, curriculum coordinators, academic geographers, assessment experts, and lay people. The Geography Standing Committee was instrumental in the development of the assessment.

At grades 4, 8, and 12, the assessment consisted of the following types of questions:

• multiple-choice questions developed to address the full range of knowledge and skill areas outlined in the geography framework document; and
• open-ended tasks consisting of short- and extended-response questions.

NAEP also gives non-cognitive questionnaires to teachers, students, and schools that are part of the NAEP sample. Responses to these questionnaires give NAEP information about school policies affecting geography instruction, as well as information from schools about educational resources.

For more information about NAEP, the nation's only ongoing assessment of what students know and can do in various subjects, go to Overview.