NAEP Technical Documentation NAEP 2013 Sample Design 

			2013 State Assessment Sample Design 2013 National Assessment Sample Design

The sample design for NAEP 2013 included samples for various operational, special study, and pilot test assessments. Representative samples were drawn for the following operational assessments:

• national assessments in mathematics and reading in public and private schools at grades 4, 8, and 12;
• state-by-state and Trial Urban District Assessments (TUDA) assessments in mathematics and reading in public schools at grades 4 and 8; and
• state-by-state assessments in mathematics and reading in public schools at grade 12 in 13 states.

Representative samples were drawn for the following special studies and pilot test assessments:

• pilot test of the computer-based assessment of Technical and Engineering Literacy (TEL) in public schools at grade 8;
• a special mathematics assessment in public and private schools in Puerto Rico at grades 4 and 8;
• Accessible Booklet Study in reading in public and private schools at grades 4 and 8;
• study to examine the link between Lexile and NAEP reading in public and private schools at grade 8;
• study to obtain NAEP grade 12 mathematics scores for students in the National High School Longitudinal Study (HSLS) in public schools;
• study to examine the relationship between NAEP grade 8 and grade 12 mathematics scales, conducted in public schools at grades 9, 10, and 11 in two states that conducted PISA assessments in 2012; and
• pilot tests in reading and mathematics in public and private schools at grades 4 and 8.

The samples for the operational assessments were organized into four distinct components and sampled separately. The samples for the special studies and pilot tests were integrated into these various components:

• mathematics and reading assessments in public schools at grades 4 and 8;
• mathematics and reading assessments in public schools at grade 12;
• mathematics and reading assessments in private schools at grades 4, 8, and 12; and
• computer-based TEL pilot assessment in public schools at grade 8.

The national assessments were designed to achieve nationally representative samples of public and private school students in the fourth, eighth, and twelfth grades. Their target populations included all students in public, private, Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), and Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools, who were enrolled in grades 4, 8, and 12 at the time of assessment.

For the fourth- and eighth-grade mathematics and reading assessments in public schools, the NAEP state student samples and assessments constituted the NAEP national student samples and assessments. Nationally representative samples were drawn for the remaining populations of private school students, DoDEA students, and BIE students in the fourth and eighth grades.

The TUDA samples formed part of the corresponding state public school samples, and the state samples formed the public school grades 4 and 8 part of the national sample.

At grade 12, the national samples for mathematics and reading consisted of 13 state samples of public schools and additional samples of public, private, BIE, and DoDEA schools to represent the balance of the nation.   

All samples except the TEL pilot sample were based on a two-stage sample design:

• selection of schools within strata; and
• selection of students within schools.

The computer-based TEL pilot sample was based on a three-stage sample design:

• selection of primary sampling units (PSUs);
• selection of schools within strata; and
• selection of students within schools.

In the three-stage design for the TEL pilot sample, schools were stratified and selected within the sampled PSUs. The sample of schools was selected with probability proportional to a measure of size based on the estimated grade 8 student enrollment.

The state assessments were designed to achieve representative samples of students in the respective grade. At grades 4 and 8, the target populations included all students in each participating jurisdiction, which included states, District of Columbia, DoDEA, and school districts chosen for the TUDA assessments. At grade 12, the target population consisted of all students in each of the 13 participating states. Each sample was designed to produce aggregate estimates with reliable precision for all the participating jurisdictions, as well as estimates for various student subpopulations of interest. 

In the PISA linking study, samples of students in grades 9 through 11 were selected from the schools selected for the grade 12 public school samples in Florida and Massachusetts.

The figure below illustrates the various sample types and subjects.

Components of the NAEP samples, by assessment subject, grade, and school type: 2013

 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2013 Assessments.

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