The data from the 1999 long-term trend writing assessment will not be released until further analyses have been conducted to ensure the accuracy of the results. I would like to distinguish between the results of this assessment and the 1998 writing assessment. NCES is not concerned about the accuracy of the 1998 report, because the assessment was based on different test specifications. The mathematics, reading and science components of the long-term trend report are unaffected and will be released this summer, as planned.

Before moving to describe the details of the situation, let me make two key points. First, it is important to distinguish between the long-term trend assessment and the 1998 national and state writing assessment. Beginning in the early 1970s, NCES began to conduct trend assessments in reading, mathematics, science, and writing. Over time, these assessments have remained essentially the same, both in content and manner of administration. As a result, NCES has maintained a record of trends in student achievement that stretch over several decades. Beginning in the early 1990s, NCES began a new series of national and state assessments in the same four subjects, as well as assessments of geography, U. S. History, civics, and the arts. The national and state writing assessment is based on a different, and more robust, set of assessment specifications that made use of the most current methodologies. These NAEP assessments, often known as The Nation's Report Cards," are now considered to be the main NAEP reporting series. We are in no way concerned about the accuracy of the 1998 national and state assessment reports.

The second point that I want to make is that we are planning to reanalyze data from the long-term writing assessment. We hope to issue these data in a separate report. I have included more details in the paragraphs that follow.

The National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), agreed in March with NCES that current analyses of the long-term trend writing assessment indicated some potential problems, and should be further investigated.

Long-term trend assessments must remain exactly the same, both in content and manner of administration, so that NCES can maintain a record of trends in student achievement that stretches over several decades. Writing is unique among the four long-term trend subjects in that this assessment is entirely performance-based. Students do not respond to any short-answer or multiple-choice questions in the assessment, but instead write one or two open-ended essays.