WASHINGTON, July 20 — Inside classrooms across the country, a congressionally mandated measurement of what students know and can do continues to unfold: the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP. Known as The Nation’s Report Card, it is the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of its kind. The first national administration took place in 1969, following exploratory work that began in 1964 under a grant from the Carnegie Corporation.
Today, NAEP is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education. Congress mandates the program.
Policy and Governance
In 1988, Congress created the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), an independent bipartisan body that sets policy for NAEP. Its 26 members are appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Education. The board includes governors, state legislators, local and state school officials, educators, business representatives, and members of the public.
NAGB is responsible for developing the frameworks and test specifications that guide each assessment. NAEP does not produce results for individual students, classrooms, or schools.
Instead, it reports achievement data for demographic groups — by gender, socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity. The sampling procedure is designed to be representative of the geographical, racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity of U.S. schools. Data is also provided for students with disabilities and English language learners.
What Is Measured
Assessments are most frequently given in mathematics, reading, science, and writing. Periodic assessments cover arts, civics, economics, geography, technology and engineering literacy (TEL), and U.S. history. Beyond test scores, NAEP surveys students, teachers, and school administrators to collect contextual information.
Two types of assessments exist. Main NAEP reflects current educational content and is administered every two years.
Long-term trend NAEP measures student progress over time, providing a continuous data stream since 1969.
State and Urban Participation
Voluntary state-level assessments began on a trial basis in 1990 and became permanent in 1996. They are now administered every two years. In 2002, selected urban districts joined as the Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA).
These allow comparisons among major cities and states. Teachers, principals, parents, policymakers, and researchers use NAEP results to assess student progress and guide improvements in education.
The data offers a consistent benchmark — group-level, not individual — for understanding how America’s students perform across subjects and demographic lines. By next administration, NAEP will continue to deliver its two-year cycle of reading and math results, alongside periodic assessments in the other subjects. The Nation’s Report Card remains the central tool for tracking long-term educational trends.
