About the Blog

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) blog—NAEP Plus—will foster discussions inspired by assessment results and activities of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). As a statistical agency, NCES analyzes data with a non-partisan eye, which allows us to capture and report on student achievement with a neutral voice.

NCES is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the U.S. and other nations. It is located within the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences. The Center fulfills a Congressional mandate to collect, analyze, and report complete statistics on the condition of American education, conduct and publish reports, and review and report on education activities internationally. The National Assessment Governing Board sets policy for NAEP and is responsible for developing assessment frameworks and specifications.

The data NCES produces are used for a wide-ranging number of purposes by Congress, other federal agencies, state and local officials, the news media, and the general public. You can view NCES’s official NAEP website at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/. You can also view the latest NAEP reports at http://www.nationsreportcard.gov. Additional information can be found on the Resources page.

We hope you’ll view this blog as a place of thought-provoking information and data analyses, and that you’ll return frequently to participate in the ongoing discussion.