Volume 17, Issue 1-4
Measure Up
FALL 2012
Assessment news for elementary school teachers
The Future of NAEP
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP),
first administered in 1969, is the largest continuing and
nationally representative assessment of what our nation’s
students know and can do in subjects such as mathematics,
reading, science, and writing. Teachers, principals, parents,
policymakers, and researchers all use NAEP results to assess
progress and develop ways to improve education in the
United States.
encouraged to “think big” about the role NAEP should play
in the future—ten years ahead and beyond.
To continue moving the NAEP program forward, a summit
of diverse experts in assessment, measurement, cognition,
and technology was convened in August 2011. These
experts discussed and debated ideas for the future of NAEP.
A second summit of state and local stakeholders was held in
January 2012. Participants of both meetings were
• Measure old constructs in new ways;
A panel of participants from the two summits was asked
to draft a white paper summarizing the discussions of the
two groups. The panel made a variety of recommendations,
including the active monitoring of technology trends.
It was suggested that NAEP should explore using new
technologies to do the following:
• Assess new constructs such as critical thinking, problem
solving, and collaboration;
• Allow fuller inclusion of students with special needs; and
• Improve student engagement.
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Explanation:
Their paper, “NAEP: Looking Ahead—Leading
Assessment into the Future,” can be found at the
link below. The staff at the National Center for
Education Statistics (NCES) will be reading this very
thoughtful report and discussing the implications
as NAEP moves forward. http://nces.ed.gov/
Dividing by a smaller number gives a greater answer.
OR
Dividing by a larger number gives a smaller answer.
OR
A smaller number goes into another number more times.
nationsreportcard/about/future_of_naep.asp
Using NAEP questions
in your classroom
With the publication of NAEP results, select items from
each assessment are released. You can access the items,
answer keys and scoring guides, sample student
responses, and national performance results at all three
grades by using the NAEP Questions Tool (NQT) at
Score & Description
Correct- Correct oval filled in and acceptable explanation
Partial 1- No oval filled in but acceptable explanation given
Partial 2- Correct oval filled in but explanation only consists
of one or more examples without generalizing
Partial 3- Correct oval filled in with incomplete or partially
correct explanation
Incorrect 1- Correct oval filled in with incorrect explanation,
no explanation, or no example
Incorrect 2- Other incorrect responses
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/itmrlsx/landing.aspx.
The Questions Tool includes both multiple-choice and
constructed-response items for all NAEP subjects and
grades, which you can use to create unique activities for
your class. There are more than 3,000 questions
covering all NAEP subjects. Also, your students may
enjoy using Test Yourself to test their knowledge on a
small set of questions on any subject, and to compare
their performance with that of the nation’s students.
Sample mathematics and reading items from the NAEP
2011 assessment follow.
Sample Grade 4 Mathematics Item
Mr. Jones picked a number greater than 100.
He told Gloria to divide the number by 18.
He told Edward to divide the number by 15.
Whose answer is greater?
Gloria’s
Edward’s
Explain how you know this person’s answer will always
be greater for any number that Mr. Jones picks.
NAEP national performance results in Mathematics
at grade 4: 2011
Score
Incorrect 2
44%
Incorrect 1
25%
Partial 3
13%
Partial 2 2%
Partial 1 #
Correct
14%
Omitted 1%
Off task #
0
Percentage of Students
# Rounds to zero.
NOTE: These results are for public and nonpublic school students. Percentages may
not add to 100 due to rounding. Off task applies to responses that do not address the
question presented, are illegible, or cannot otherwise be scored.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National
Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP),
2011 Mathematics Assessment.
ANSWER: Edward’s
2
100
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Sample Grade 4 Reading Item
Marian’s Revolution
by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen
By 1939, Marian Anderson had performed for presidents
and kings. She had been praised for having “a voice ... one
hears once in a hundred years.” Despite her success, when
Marian wanted to sing at Constitution Hall that year, she was
banned from doing so. The owner of the hall, an organization
called the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), felt
that Marian couldn’t be allowed to sing there because she
was African American.
Chosen by Music
That wasn’t the first time Marian had been turned away
because she was black. When she was 18 years old, she
applied to music school. The clerk at the desk rudely sent her
home because of her race. Marian was shocked by the clerk’s
words. “I could not conceive of a person,” Marian said,
“surrounded as she was with the joy that is music without
having some sense of its beauty and understanding rub off
on her.”
Because of segregation—the practice of keeping blacks and
whites separate—the early 1900s were a difficult time for
a young black woman to begin a professional singing career.
But Marian was determined to sing. “It was something that
just had to be done,” she remembered. “I don’t think I had
much to say in choosing it. I think music chose me.”
To read the rest of this passage, visit the NAEP
Questions Tool at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/
itmrlsx/landing.aspx
Why did Marian Anderson think she would be accepted
to sing at Constitution Hall in 1939?
A. Because she believed the DAR would consider only
her musical skill
B. Because she had sung at Constitution Hall before
she went to Europe
C. Because she thought that Eleanor Roosevelt would
recommend her
D. Because she knew that no other black singers
had applied
ANSWER: A
NAEP national performance results in Reading
at grade 4: 2011
Score
Correct
54%
Incorrect
45%
Omitted 1%
0
100
Percentage of Students
NOTE: These results are for public and nonpublic school students. Percentages may not
add to 100 due to rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National
Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP),
2011 Reading Assessment.
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What Is The Nation’s Report Card?
The Nation’s Report Card informs the public about the
academic achievement of elementary and secondary
students in the United States. Report cards
communicate the findings of NAEP, the largest
continuing and nationally representative measure
of achievement in various subjects over time.
Since 1969, NAEP assessments have been conducted
periodically in reading, mathematics, science, writing,
U.S. history, civics, geography, and other subjects.
By collecting and reporting information on student
performance at the national, state, and local levels,
NAEP is an integral part of our nation’s evaluation
of the condition and progress of education.
Only information related to academic achievement
and relevant variables is collected. The privacy of
individual students and their families is protected,
and the
identities of
participating
schools are
not released.
Connect with NAEP!
Online Resources
Learn more about
Sample Questions Booklets
• the latest news regarding upcoming assessments
and releases;
• tips for using online NAEP tools;
• NAEP questions to test your knowledge compared
to that of the nation’s students; and
• NAEP publications.
For more information about NAEP, go to
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/
Examine the types of questions students will
be answering.
http://nationsreportcard.gov
Content Area Frameworks
Frameworks guide the development of the NAEP
assessment and determine the content to be assessed.
http://nationsreportcard.gov
Information for Educators
Create your own NAEP test and see what students
know and can do.
http://nationsreportcard.gov/educators.asp
Information for Students
Allow students to test themselves using NAEP
questions.
http://nationsreportcard.gov/students.asp
Data Tools
This publication was prepared for the National Assessment of Educational
Progress by Westat under contract (ED-07-CO-0083) to the National Center
for Education Statistics, U.S. Depart­ment of Education.
Explore NAEP results with online data tools.
http://nationsreportcard.gov/data_tools.asp
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