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Referred to as the Nation’s Report Card, the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) tests are the only achievement tests given to students in every state. The tests allow the only comparison among states. But not ever student is tested, just a representative sample.
Since 1969, NAEP assessments have been conducted periodically in reading, mathematics, science, writing, U.S. history, civics, geography, and other subjects. NAEP collects and reports information on student performance at the national, state, and local levels, making the assessment an integral part of our nation’s evaluation of the condition and progress of education. Only academic achievement data and related background information are collected. The privacy of individual students and their families is protected. Participation in the NAEP was voluntary for states until the passage of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which requires all states to test students in the fourth and eight grades every two years.
NAEP is a congressionally authorized project of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education. The Commissioner of Education Statistics is responsible for carrying out the NAEP project. The National Assessment Governing Board oversees and sets policy for NAEP.
Whereas each state also administers its own state tests in reading, math and sometimes other subjects. The state tests can cover different skills than the national exam.
NAEP is a survey assessment, so results are based on a sample of students in a school or district. Each student takes a small part of the overall assessment (about 25%), so only when the scores are aggregated for groups of students are the data considered valid and reliable estimates of what students know and can do in the content area.
Testing Schedule
Each year, NAEP decides which subject matter to test. For example, in 2010 NAEP administered assessments in civics, geography, and US history. A student will be assessed in only one of the three content areas.
Questions
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Does NAEP test all grade levels? No, only grades 4, 8, and 12.
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How are students selected? Grade level student lists are submitted to NCES by the Oregon Department of Education, and student names are randomly selected by a computer program. At the same time, each student selected to participate is assigned a content area booklet.
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How long does the NAEP assessment take? The assessments take 90 minutes of the students' time on the day of the assessment.
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Does NAEP offer accommodations for students with disabilities or English language learners? Yes, NAEP endeavors to assess all students selected as a part of its sampling process, including students who are classified by their schools as students with disabilities (SD) and/or as English-language learners (ELL) or limited English proficient (LEP).
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Who decides if a student is to be included, accommodated, or excluded from NAEP? Only qualified school staff can decide whether the student can meaningfully be assessed or should be excluded from a NAEP assessment.
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Who completes a NAEP students with disabilities or English language learners worksheet? For students with disabilities, the professional staff member who is most familiar with the student's IEP should complete the NAEP SD worksheet. In the case of an English Language Learner, the professional staff member who is most familiar with the student's participation in Oregon's statewide assessments should complete the NAEP ELL worksheet.
Finding the Scores
Interpreting the NAEP scores is not easy. The NAEP Web site page entitled State Profiles presents key data about each state's performance in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in mathematics, reading, writing, and science for grades 4 and 8. You can quickly see how a state performed over time, view a state’s demographics, download snapshot reports, and compare each state’s overall performance to the nation and each other. It is inappropriate to compare scores across subjects.
The Oregon Department of Education also has information about NAEP and you can view the scores from 1998 to the latest tests at the ODE Web site.
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2009 Math
Oregon's scores on the nation's elementary and middle school math tests were released in October of 2009. They showed only slight improvement over the past four years, allowing higher-achieving states such as Washington to eclipse Oregon in math achievement.
Oregon's average math scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which is given to a representative sample of fourth- and eighth-graders in every state, rose a point or two from the last time the test was given two years ago. But the test-makers said those gains are too small to be significant. Washington, in contrast, improved its eighth-grade math average by four points, putting Washington among the top 10 states in middle school math achievement.
Nationally, fourth-grade math achievement was flat from 2007 to 2009 − a disappointment given all the emphasis on raising math achievement in elementary schools.
The national test pegged Oregon's math performance as strictly middle of the road, with 13 states ahead of Oregon at middle school math and 18 behind it. The rest were in a statistical tie with Oregon.
Middle School Math Results But the national average for eighth-grade math rose, setting a record high for middle-school math achievement during the 20-year history of the test. Scores for nearly every racial and income group rose, but the gaps between the groups did not narrow. Compared with other states, Oregon eighth-graders were strong in geometry and measurement skills but weak at number properties and operations − basics such as fractions, percentages, decimals, multiplication and division.
View 2009 Math Test Results
You can view more information about the 2009 math tests from the Nation's Report Card Web site:
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Nation's Report Card: Math 2009 View student performance by various student groups, including gender, race/ethnicity, type of school (public or private), family income level, etc.
2009 Reading
Oregon students' reading skills have plateaued along with those of fourth- and eighth-graders nationwide, according to national test results released in late March of 2009. Oregon showed a lack of progress on the National Assessment of Educational Progress reading exam, the only one given in all states. Only a third of fourth- and eighth-graders showed full proficiency, and their average scores were a statistical tie with 2007, the last time the test was given.
That seems to contradict recent results from Oregon's state reading tests, which have shown more and more student reaching grade-level reading benchmarks in elementary and middle school. But state officials concede the national results are correct.
A governor-appointed panel of educators, employers and others has developed a plan to fix reading instruction in every grade, drawing on research-proven practices. Some highlights:
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Kindergarten to second grade: This is the time to discover and fix reading difficulties. For most students who take the state reading test at the end of third grade and are found to read below grade level, it's too late to fully fix the problem. All students have their reading skills measured at least three times a year. Those who are behind get extra help. Those who are furthest behind spend as much as 2 1/2 hours a day learning pre-reading and reading skills.
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Grades 6-8: Every student takes a reading class geared to his or her reading level. The classes, separate from traditional English classes, run 40 to 60 minutes a day.
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High school: Teachers teach students how to read and analyze text in their subject, whether physical education or physics. Content-specific reading skills and vocabulary are explicitly taught and practiced in all classes for a total of at least two hours a day.
View 2009 Reading Test Results
You can view more information about the 2009 reading tests from the Nation's Report Card Web site:
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Nation's Report Card: Reading 2009 View student performance by various student groups, including gender, race/ethnicity, type of school (public or private), family income level, etc.
Source: "Oregon has stagnant reading achievement − and a plan to fix it," by Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian March 24, 2010
Science
Oregon students participating in science experiments and hands-on learning scored, on average, higher than their peers on the 2009 tests.
Overall, science results released in early 2011 show most Oregon students performed at the basic level of science understanding. Oregon outperformed the national average but only one-third of Oregon students were deemed proficient in science.
The assessment tested more than 300,000 students nationally in fourth, eighth and 12th grades in 2009. About 6,000 were tested in Oregon. The test, scored on a scale of one to 300, measures students' understanding and proficiency in life science, physical science, and earth and space sciences. The assessment categorizes scores into levels: basic, proficient and advanced. About one percent of students in Oregon and nationally reached the advanced benchmark.
A growing number of Oregon students fall below the basic benchmark as they move from elementary to middle school, mirroring a national trend. Some worry that as adults, students will be less likely to understand and evaluate issues that could affect their lives such as new vaccines, stem cells and global warming.
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Fourth Grade: Oregon average 151 (40 percent basic, 33 percent proficient). National average 149 (39 percent basic, 32 percent proficient).
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Eighth Grade: Oregon average 154 (34 percent basic, 33 percent proficient). National average: 149 (33 percent basic, 28 percent proficient).
Source: "Oregon students score above average on national science test, but only one-third deemed proficient," by Kimberly Mellon, The Oregonian, January 26, 2011.
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