Geography

The geography assessment measures the knowledge of geography in three content areas (space and place, environment and society, and spatial dynamics and connections) and three cognitive areas (knowing, understanding, and applying). The framework also outlines what geography knowledge and skills students should have to reach NAEP Basic, NAEP Proficient, and NAEP Advanced achievement. Survey questionnaires, administered to students, teachers, and school administrators who participate in a geography assessment, are used to collect and report contextual information about students’ learning experience in and out of the classroom.

• Geography Assessment Framework

  Read the geography assessment framework.

• Geography Content Areas

  Learn more about the content of the geography assessment and how student performance is measured.

• Sample Geography Questions

  Explore sample geography questions, scorer comments, and the percentage of students nationwide who correctly answered individual questions.
  

• Survey Questionnaires

  See questionnaires given to students, teachers, and school administrators. Questionnaires collect information about students’ geography experiences in and out of the classroom.
  

Student performance on the NAEP geography assessment is reported in two ways: scale scores and NAEP achievement levels. 

• Scale scores represent the average performance of students who took the geography assessment. Scores are aggregated and reported for the nation and groups of students based on gender, race/ethnicity, etc.
• NAEP achievement levels are performance standards that describe what students should know and be able to do. Results are reported as percentages of students performing at or above three NAEP achievement levels (e.g., NAEP Basic, NAEP Proficient, and NAEP Advanced) that are defined in the assessment framework. Students performing at or above the NAEP Proficient level on NAEP assessments demonstrate solid academic performance and competency over challenging subject matter. Note that the NAEP Proficient achievement level does not represent grade level proficiency as determined by other assessments standards (e.g., state or district assessments). 
  

Item maps illustrate how specific geography knowledge and skills correspond to the NAEP achievement levels. Item maps answer the question, “What assessment questions were likely to be answered correctly by students performing at the NAEP Basic, NAEP Proficient, and NAEP Advanced achievement levels?"

• Scale Scores

  Reading about the geography scale.

• NAEP Achievement Levels

  See more information about what students should know and be able to do to perform at the NAEP Basic, NAEP Proficient, or NAEP Advanced achievement levels.
  

• Item Map

  Use the NAEP Item Maps tool to see how specific geography knowledge and skills correspond to different NAEP achievement levels.