NAEP Technical DocumentationDevelopment of Initial Student Nonresponse Cells for the 2014 Assessment

Cell definitions for the student nonresponse adjustment vary by public and private schools. The public school samples formed initial student nonresponse cells using the following nesting cell structure:

• students with disabilities (SD)/English learners (EL) by subject,
• school nonresponse cell,
• relative age¹ (classified into "older" student and "modal age or younger" student),
• gender, and
• race/ethnicity.

The highest level variable in the cell structure separates students who were classified either as with disabilities (SD) or as English learners (EL) from those who are neither, since SD or EL students tend to score lower on assessment tests than those without these limitations. In addition, the SD/EL categories are further broken down by subject since rules for excluding students from the assessment differ by subject. Non-SD/EL students are not broken down by subject because the exclusion rules do not apply to them.

Private school samples formed initial student nonresponse cells hierarchically as follows:

• school nonresponse cell,
• relative age¹ (classified into "older" student and "modal age or younger" student),
• gender, and
• race/ethnicity.

The structure for private school cells for student nonresponse is slightly different from public school cells. SD/EL status is not included in the private school cell structure because very few students (between 5-8 percent) in private schools are classified as SD/EL.

¹ Older students in the grade 8 assessment are those born before October 1, 1999. Students born after that date are classified as modal age or younger.

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