NAEP Technical DocumentationSelecting the Student Samples
NAEP needs a complete list of grade-eligible students (age-eligible students for the long-term trend assessment) for each participating public and non-public school. Student lists may be submitted in either electronic (e-file) or hard-copy format. The chosen format determines student sample selection timing and process, but has no effect on sampling results.
For schools whose list of eligible students was submitted electronically using the e-filing system, NAEP selects student samples centrally using a computerized sampling procedure. For schools choosing to provide hard-copy student lists, in-field sampling is conducted by NAEP field staff during the preassessment period.
Public schools' student lists may be submitted either by participating schools, their districts, or their states depending on the method selected by their
NAEP State Coordinator. The e-filing process is the same for state, district, and school-level submitters. Nonpublic schools submit their own student lists.
To make sure that every eligible student has a chance to be sampled, School Coordinators are later asked to provide a current list of eligible students in the weeks prior to the assessment to facilitate any
student sample updates.
Last updated 15 July 2024 (SK)