NAEP Technical DocumentationEconomics Achievement Levels

The process of developing achievement levels for economics involves the judgments of informed, well-qualified people from throughout the nation and its territories. Approximately 30 persons served on grade level 12 panels to develop NAEP economics achievement levels. These 30 people included teachers (about 55 percent), other educators (about 15 percent), and members of the general public (about 30 percent). To the extent possible, the panels were proportionally representative of the nation's population with respect to region, race/ethnicity, and gender.

The panels for economics were convened in 2006, and the National Assessment Governing Board set the NAEP economics achievement levels. The achievement levels are used for the economics assessments in reporting results. Descriptions of the economics achievement levels and cut scores are available on this website.

NOTE: As provided by law, the achievement levels are to be used on a trial basis and should be interpreted with caution. However, members of both NCES and the Board believe that these performance standards are useful for understanding trends in student achievement.

Last updated 27 May 2012 (AA)

Printer-friendly Version