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NAEP Analysis and Scaling → Initial Activities → Summaries of Item-Level Response Rates for NAEP Assessments

NAEP Technical DocumentationSummaries of Item-Level Response Rates for NAEP Assessments

The links below provide tables with data on missing responses, which are categorized as omitted or not reached. The tables list data for a third type of response as well: an "off-task" response. An off-task response is one that is unrelated to the question and considered inappropriate. It applies to constructed-response items only. For more information, see Treatment of Missing Responses in NAEP.

In an effort to provide quality data, NAEP staff examine response rates for each item prior to scaling. Since response rates vary across subject areas and grades, a general guideline is used as a way to bring attention to any item requiring special consideration. Any item with an omit, not-reached, or off-task rate greater than 10 percent is investigated further.

Links to summary item-level response rates, national and state assessments, by year and subject area: Various years, 2000–2019
Year	Subject area	National	State
2019	Mathematics	R3	†
	Reading	R3	†
	Science	R3	†
2018	Civics	R3	†
	Geography	R3	†
	Technology and engineering literacy (TEL)	R3	†
	U.S. history	R3	†
2017	Mathematics	R3	†
2017	Reading	R3	†
2016	Arts - Music	R3	†
2016	Arts - Visual arts	R3	†
2015	Mathematics	R3	†
	Reading	R3	†
	Science	R3	†
	Vocabulary	R3	†
2014	Civics	R3	†
	Geography	R3	†
	Technology and engineering literacy (TEL)	R3	†
	U.S. history	R3	†
2013	Mathematics	R3	†
2013	Reading	R3	†
2012	Economics	R3	†
2011	Mathematics	R3	†
	Reading	R3	†
	Reading vocabulary	R3	†
	Science	R3	†
	Writing	—	—
2010	Civics	R3	†
	Geography	R3	†
	U.S. history	R3	†
2009	Mathematics	R3	†
	Reading	R3	†
	Reading vocabulary	R3	†
	Science	R3	†
2008	Arts - Music	R3	†
2008	Arts - Visual arts	R3	†
2007	Mathematics	R3	†
	Reading	R3	†
	Writing	—	—
2006	Civics	R3	†
	Economics	R3	†
	U.S. history	R3	†
2005	Mathematics	R3	†
	Reading	R3	†
	Science	R3	†
2003	Mathematics	R3	†
2003	Reading	R3	†
2002	Reading	R3	†
2002	Writing	—	—
2001	Geography	R2 / R3	†
2001	U.S. history	R2 / R3	†
2000	Mathematics	R2 / R3	R2 / R3
	Reading	R2 / R3	†
	Science	R2 / R3	R2 / R3
— Not available. Item-level response rates cannot be calculated for NAEP writing assessments because each writing block contains a single item writing prompt. † Not applicable. State assessments were conducted separately from national assessments prior to 2002. NOTE: In NAEP, vocabulary, reading vocabulary, and meaning vocabulary refer to the same reporting scale. Because preliminary analyses of students' writing performance in the 2017 NAEP writing assessments at grades 4 and 8 revealed potentially confounding factors in measuring performance, results will not be publicly reported. R2 is the non-accommodated reporting sample; R3 is the accommodated reporting sample. If sampled students are classified as students with disabilities (SD) or English learners (EL), and school officials, using NAEP guidelines, determine that they can meaningfully participate in the NAEP assessment with accommodation, those students are included in the NAEP assessment with accommodation along with other sampled students including SD/EL students who do not need accommodations. The R3 sample is more inclusive than the R2 sample and excludes a smaller proportion of sampled students. The R3 sample is the only reporting sample used in NAEP after 2001. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), various years, 2000–2019 Assessments.

Links to summary item-level response rates, long-term trend assessments, by year, assessment subject, and assessment type: 2004, 2008, and 2012
Year	Assessment subject and type	National samples
2012	Mathematics long-term trend assessment	R3
2012	Reading long-term trend assessment	R3
2008	Mathematics long-term trend assessment	R3
2008	Reading long-term trend assessment	R3
2004	Mathematics long-term trend assessment	R3
	Reading long-term trend assessment	R3
	Mathematics long-term trend bridge study	R2
	Reading long-term trend bridge study	R2
NOTE: R2 is the non-accommodated reporting sample; R3 is the accommodated reporting sample. If sampled students are classified as students with disabilities (SD) or English learners (EL), and school officials, using NAEP guidelines, determine that they can meaningfully participate in the NAEP assessment with accommodation, those students are included in the NAEP assessment with accommodation along with other sampled students including SD/EL students who do not need accommodations. The R3 sample is more inclusive than the R2 sample and excludes a smaller proportion of sampled students. The R3 sample is the only reporting sample used in NAEP after 2001. The R2 sample was used as the bridge sample type in 2004 bridge studies to examine comparability of scoring based on an assessment sample similar to those used for LTT in 2001 and years prior. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2004, 2008, and 2012 Mathematics and Reading Long-Term Trend Assessments.

Last updated 15 November 2023 (ML)

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​​​​​​NAEP Technical DocumentationSummaries of Item-Level Response Rates for NAEP Assessments

NAEP Technical DocumentationSummaries of Item-Level Response Rates for NAEP Assessments