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Staff and Administrators (Public Schools)
You Are Essential Partners in NAEP
As a teacher, my constant focus is to help students make progress in the classroom. NAEP helps with this mission by creating a common measure of student achievement across the country.
Iris Garcia, Teacher Biscayne Elementary Community School, Miami Beach, FL.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of what our nation’s students know and can do in subjects such as civics, geography, mathematics, reading, science, U.S. history, technology and engineering literacy, and writing. The results of NAEP are released as The Nation’s Report Card.
As principals, you are essential partners in NAEP. You select and empower a NAEP school coordinator, meet with teachers and students who will participate in the assessment, and encourage your students to participate and do their best.
As teachers, you make an important contribution by encouraging your students to participate and give their full effort. When students take part in NAEP, we get the most accurate measure possible of student achievement across the country.
Depending on which NAEP assessment is administered, the data can be used to compare and understand the performance of demographic groups within states, nationally, between states, and in urban districts that participate in the Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) over time. Educators, policymakers, and elected officials use these results as input to improve education.
Has Your School Been Selected?
If your school has been selected to participate in NAEP, here is what you need to know.
- NAEP causes minimal disruption for teachers and students.
- NAEP representatives provide support to your school on assessment day.
- Each student only takes a subset of the full assessment.
- NAEP reports on results for different demographic groups—not individual students or schools.
- Students, teachers, and school administrators are asked to complete survey questionnaires. These help provide a better understanding of educational experiences and factors that may be related to students' learning.
- No one involved in NAEP administration keeps personal information on participants after the assessments are completed.
- There are no results for individual students, classrooms, or schools.
Student Selection
See how students are selected for the NAEP assessments.
Learn MoreThe 2019-2020 NAEP Assessments
Starting in October 2019, NCES will administer the long-term trend assessments in mathematics and reading in schools across the country. Long-term trend (LTT) results can be linked to NAEP assessments first administered in the early 1970s, allowing us to measure progress over a span of nearly 50 years. The age samples for long-term trend assessments are 9-, 13-, and 17-year-olds.
Selected students will participate in paper-based mathematics or reading assessments, and each student will be assessed in only one subject. NAEP representatives will bring all materials and equipment to the school on assessment day. NAEP is designed to cause minimal disruption of classroom instruction. Including transition time, directions, and completion of a short five-minute questionnaire, it takes approximately 90 minutes for students to complete the assessment. The questionnaire provides valuable information about students’ educational experiences and opportunities to learn both inside and outside of the classroom. There will be no school or teacher questionnaires for the long-term trend assessment.
Participating in a Digitally Based Assessment
During testing, NAEP provides all necessary equipment (tablets, ear buds, and administrative equipment). The only resources a school is requested to provide is space, desks or tables, and electricity. A tutorial will be provided prior to the assessment to teach students how to use the equipment and tools and to enter their responses. Questionnaires that capture the learning experiences of students in and outside of the classroom will also be administered to students on tablets.
Learn More2019-2020 NAEP Resources
Last updated 17 September 2020 (AA)