Before each assessment, the schools taking part in NAEP send a letter similar to the one below (for NAEP 2011–2012) to the parents or guardians of students selected to participate.
Dear Parent or Guardian:
We are pleased to inform you that our school has been selected to represent schools across the nation by participating in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). NAEP is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education, and is the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of what our nation’s students know and can do. NAEP has been providing valid and reliable data on student performance since 1969.
The results of NAEP are released as The Nation's Report Card, which provides information about student achievement to educators, parents, policymakers, and the public.
In our school, the NAEP assessment will be given on (date) in (mathematics or reading; or economics, mathematics, or reading; or computer-based writing). Your child (may be/has been) selected to take the assessment. In addition to answering questions in one subject, students will be asked some questions about themselves and their educational experience.
It will take about 90 minutes for most students to participate in the assessment (or 120 minutes for the writing pilot on computer). The results are completely confidential (in accordance with the Confidential Information Protection provisions of Title V, Subtitle A, Public Law 107-347), and your child’s grades will not be affected. Your child may be excused from participation for any reason, is not required to finish the assessment, and may skip any test question. While NAEP is voluntary, we depend on student participation to provide an accurate measure of student achievement that will inform improvements in education. Your child will represent many other students, so participation is very important. However, if you do not want your child to participate, please notify me in writing by (date).
There is no need to study in preparation for NAEP. We do ask parents to encourage their children to do their best and to have them get plenty of rest the night before the assessment.
If you would like additional information about NAEP or to view sample questions, please visit http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/parents. If you have questions or would like to review a booklet that includes sample subject area and student questions, please contact me at (telephone number) or via e-mail at (e-mail address).
We are excited that our school will be participating in NAEP, and we are pleased that your child (may be/has been) selected. We know that our school's students will help us to show what our nation's students know and can do!
Sincerely,
School Principal
