National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

Since the 1960s, American parents, educators, politicians, and researchers have been concerned with measuring students' progress and comparing that progress with that of students in other states and countries. The chief assessment tool has become the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a series of tests given to students in the fourth, eighth, and twelfth grades. For each relevant grade level, basic scores indicate partial knowledge of a subject; proficient scores suggest a mastery of application and analytical skills, and advanced scores show that a student has superior knowledge and mastery. Results of NAEP testing are published each year in the Nation’s Report Card. NAEP data is available to researchers who study such issues as differences in gender and racial educational performance. The National Center for Educational Statistics, which operates under the auspices of the Institute of Sciences within the US Department of Education, administers NAEP. Advances in technology have made testing more sophisticated, and in the twenty-first century, students complete their testing on computers, laptops, tablets, or other devices that allow for interactive testing features.

Background

When the Russians launched Sputnik into outer space in 1957, the United States responded by determining to improve its educational system and placing new emphasis on science and mathematics. Ralph Tyler, the Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Behavioral Sciences, and Francis Keppel, the Commissioner of Education, were charged with designing a new method of assessment capable of charting progress over time. Tyler believed that students should be tested on a variety of subjects in order to examine progress in those subjects, but the decision was made to focus on student performance at particular grade levels in order to conform to existing national legislation. An Exploratory Committee for Assessment Progress in Education (ECAPE) was established, and funding for the early stages of the program was provided by the Carnegie Corporation. In 1966, Congress appropriated funding through the renewal of the Elementary and Secondary School Act. Princeton professor John Tukey acted as technical adviser for the committee.

Early testing included the landmark Coleman Report, which analyzed educational opportunities according to race, color, religion, and national origin. That early planning and testing provided the groundwork for the creation of NAEP, which was established in 1969 to measure progress in all fifty states and in selected urban districts. Regular testing began in 1983, originally concentrating only on reading and writing proficiency. In the twenty-first century, students are tested on math and science every two years and are periodically tested in reading, writing, arts, civics, economics, geography, technology and engineering literacy, and American history. Results from these tests are available for comparison at the national, state, and district levels, including over twenty-five urban districts.

Mathematical tests examine subjects such as number properties and operations, measurement, geometry, data analysis, statistics, and algebra. Traditionally, two-thirds of mathematics testing is done without the use of calculators, but in the late 2010s as tablet-based assessments increased in popularity, these rules became more flexible. Science testing is divided into the categories of Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, and Earth and Space Sciences. The multiple-choice section is scored by computers, but NAEP raters score other parts of the tests. The Technology and Engineering Literacy (TEL) Assessment is a computer-based cross-curricula test that measures a student’s ability to accomplish interactive tasks associated with engineering. The Writing Assessment test is a multimedia computer-based test that requires students to respond to short video and audio prompts. Science Interactive Computer Tasks (ICTs) is designed to allow students to prove their scientific knowledge by performing such tasks as simulated experiments.

NAEP Today

According to the NAEP's long-term assessments, little progress was made in the 2010s and 2020s in closing the achievement gaps in reading and mathematics. Much of the criticism for that lack of progress was aimed at President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind policy, which was viewed as promoting mindless testing. Educators also criticized President Barack Obama for failing to improve scores through his Race to the Top policy designed to fix some of the problems with No Child Left Behind. Educators also expressed significant concerns that the emphasis on literacy and STEM subjects left insufficient time to teach students history, civics, democracy, and good citizenship.

The NAEP has also been criticized for failing to meet professional assessment standards. Some researchers argue that a fully organized program for validating NAEP data should exist. They also note that NAEP data and technical manuals were not released together, making it difficult for researchers to use them. Criticisms of the test's construction and statistical design method received consistent negative feedback from researchers and measurement theory experts beginning in the 1990s and continuing through the 2020s. Other criticisms have focused on whether NAEP standards are too high, resulting in lower test scores for American students compared with those in other countries, particularly Asian countries.

In the twenty-first century, the NAEP began using digital assessments, which allowed the use of new testing methods and question types. Students can access interactive testing features using tablets, computers, laptops, or other digital devices. Some sections of the test have audio or video elements. Despite test changes, the National Report Card generally indicated either stagnant scores or declines in the first decades of the twenty-first century. The reading and mathematics assessment scores among thirteen-year-old students declined from 2019 to 2023. Compared to 2013, 2023’s average scores were seven points lower in reading and fourteen points lower in math. Similarly, nine-year-old students’ reading scores declined by five points from 2020 to 2022, and mathematics scores declined by seven points. Educators noted the negative impact COVID-19 had on education during the early 2020s and cited the sudden shift to virtual school for the decline.

NAEP test scores regularly provide researchers with data about gender, racial, and ethnic differences in student performance. Because of the need to remain competitive in a global environment, there are concerns about ongoing differences in male and female test scores in mathematics and science and the disproportionate number of male college graduates in those fields. Much of the debate has focused on whether differences in test scores are the result of biological differences such as prenatal sex hormones or a consequence of gender-specific socialization. Similarly, African American test scores are consistently lower than those of White or Asian students. Modern researchers and educators note that differences in scores between races and genders are not the result of biological differences but the result of biased test construction that gives certain groups natural advantages over others. Other factors in differences in test scores include social factors, such as systemic discrimination that results in low-income minority students predominately attending poorly funded schools.

Bibliography

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