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The National Indian Education Study: Accessing More ResultsImage of student attending school.

The National Indian Education Study (NIES) 2019 report, released this past May, contained data focused primarily on two guiding questions:

  1. To what extent are American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) culture and language part of the curricula?
  2. What is the overall education context for AI/AN students in the United States?

Only so much data could fit in this report. An enormous amount of additional data is publicly available via the NIES Data Explorer—also known as the NIES NDE. The NIES NDE gives the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results for AI/AN students on grades 4 and 8 mathematics and reading assessments dating back to 2005, the first year of the study. Results are also available for the NIES survey that explored the educational experiences of participating students, their teachers, and their school administrators.

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November 10, 2021

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More Students are Not Meeting NAEP’s Minimum Achievement Expectations: Resources to Change the TrajectoryDigital library image.

This is the last post in a three-part series highlighting the disturbing trend observed in the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). This post highlights resources that are available to states, districts, teachers, parents, and researchers – those who can make differences to our students. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and its parent organization, the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), publish various data tools, research reports, and guides with the purpose of improving educational outcomes for all students. Some of the available resources are highlighted here.

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October 5, 2021

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More Students are Not Meeting NAEP’s Minimum Achievement Expectations: NCES’s Efforts Toward a Better Portrayal of These Students’ PerformanceStudents on tablets in classroom setting.

This is the second of a three-part series highlighting the large and increasing percentage of students performing below the NAEP Basic level. The first post in the series reported that between 19 and 40 percent of students, depending on grade and subject, could not even partially master the knowledge and skills that are considered fundamental for solid academic performance in reading and mathematics. In addition, the current pandemic-induced education crisis is heightening the concern about the future of these students. This blog post describes NCES’s efforts to address this concerning trend.

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September 28, 2021

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More Students Are Not Meeting NAEP’s Minimum Achievement Expectations: Data from Mathematics and ReadingStudent writing in notebook as guardian looks on.

Over the last decade, NAEP has revealed a concerning trend: increasing numbers of students in key subjects like reading and mathematics are not reaching even the NAEP Basic achievement level, which denotes partial mastery of knowledge and skills prerequisite for solid academic performance. This trend is seen at the national, state, and district levels.

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September 21, 2021

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The National Indian Education Study: Reporting More Results Than EverStudents writing at their desk.

The release of the National Indian Education Study (NIES) 2019 report contains the largest amount of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) subgroup data in NIES program history. NIES is designed to describe the condition of education for AI/AN students in the United States. There are two central components to NIES. The first component is the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics and reading assessments administered to students at grades 4 and 8, along with NAEP survey questionnaires that are also administered to these students as well as their teacher and school administrators. The second component is an NIES specific survey for AI/AN students, their teachers, and school administrators. One of the central goals of NIES, since its inception, has been providing more subgroup data. State-level data has steadily expanded and more recent reports, including this one, spotlight contextual factors associated with higher versus lower academic performance among AI/AN students.

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June 2, 2021

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In-Person Learning Opportunities More Prevalent in Private Schools than Public SchoolsStudent wearing mask in classroom setting raising her hand.

Public and private schools across the country participated in the second round of the IES School Survey, providing information on the types of learning opportunities they offered fourth- and eighth-grade students in February. The results showed that private schools offered their students in-person learning opportunities at much larger rates than public schools. Ninety-one percent of fourth-graders and eighty-five percent of eighth-graders attended private schools that offered in-person learning opportunities to all students. In contrast, 50 percent of fourth-grade and 42 percent of eighth-grade public students attended schools that did so.

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April 21, 2021

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In Case You Missed It - Top Blog Posts, Tweets, and Data Analyses from NAEPIn Case You Missed It — 2020 Top Blog Posts, Tweets and Data Analyses from NAEP blog post image

With all that 2020 brought us, we also experienced a deluge of data and information. Such overwhelming amounts of news made it easy to miss opportunities to learn about and engage with important education data. In this post, we recap some top moments in 2020 from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

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January 25, 2021

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Pre-Coronavirus, Big Gains for Large Cities and Urban Districts on NAEP Since the Early 2000sLarge cities blog post image

Since the early 2000s, the NAEP program has partnered with some of the largest urban districts in the nation to administer a district-level NAEP assessment, or the Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA). The most recent results from 2019 predate the schooling disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. While it may be too soon to say how current learning disruptions will affect achievement—particularly for students in urban settings—we can review progress they have made since the early 2000’s. All results discussed were produced by the online data analysis tool, the NAEP Data Explorer (NDE).

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October 21, 2020

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Are U.S. students prepared to learn online when schools need to be closed?Online learning blog post image

In addition to answering questions designed to assess their knowledge and skills in reading and mathematics, U.S. fourth- and eighth-grade students in public and private schools who participate biannually in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) complete survey questionnaires. The surveys seek information on many aspects of students’ learning environments, including their access to and experience with using digital tools. In addition, NCES surveys the teachers and school administrators of the student participants.

This blog post is based on findings from the NAEP surveys conducted in 2019, the latest NAEP assessment that included results for states and districts. The blog focuses on the availability of digital tools and access to the Internet, which are necessary for learning when schools offer instruction remotely. Read Full Post >>

September 1, 2020

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An early look at how 2018–19 state proficiency standards map onto NAEP ScalesMap of United States

Mapping State Proficiency Standards Onto the NAEP Scales is the go-to study for comparing what states across the country expect from their students (i.e., their standards for proficient performance). This post shares an early-look at the standing of states’ SY 2018-19 standard of proficient performance in reference to achievement levels set for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

Currently, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is working on the quality measures for our full-scale report. The study uses rigorous methodology and quality control measures to ensure comparisons are valid.

All released NCES mapping state proficiency standard reports have used state assessment data from EDFacts, a school-level assessment result file that states submit to the Elementary and Secondary division of the U.S. Department of Education. The process generally takes more than a year to produce the full-scale study report after release of the respective year’s NAEP assessment results. During this time NCES,

  • obtains EDFacts file and verify the data with state representatives to ensure the student population represented in the state assessment results is the same population represented in the NAEP assessment results;
  • collects additional information, via NAEP State Coordinators, necessary to accurately map estimates and interpret the results; and,
  • completes the rigorous review process necessary for an NCES report.

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August 27, 2020

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The Great Divergence: Growing Disparities Between the Nation’s Highest and Lowest Achievers in NAEP Mathematics and Reading Between 2009 and 2019The Great Divergence blog post image

In preparation for the October 30 release of the 2019 Nation’s Report Cards for mathematics and reading in grades 4 and 8, we have compiled an overview of key results spanning the last two decades of NAEP. The dominant theme that emerges is the appearance of a growing divergence in achievement between the highest and lowest achieving students. This divergence is seen for the nation as a whole, across states, and for student groups by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Read Full Post >>

October 30, 2019

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New Report from NCES Shows States Adopting More Rigorous StandardsState Mapping Chart

The 2015 Report on State Proficiency Standards has been released! Since 2003, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has published periodic reports that show where each state’s standard for proficient performance in reading and mathematics at grades 4 and 8 falls on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scale. Because all states participate in NAEP for these grades and subjects, it is possible to benchmark states’ proficiency standards with the NAEP achievement levels. Read Full Post >>

June 11, 2018

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How does NAEP Map State Proficiency Standards?2015 State Mapping Coming Soon Infocard

The 2015 Report on State Proficiency Standards is about to be released! Since 2003, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has published periodic reports that show where each state’s standard for proficient performance in reading and math at grades 4 and 8 falls on the NAEP scale. Read Full Post >>

May 24, 2018

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Three Key Findings from the 2016 Arts Report Card2013 State Mapping Blog Header

With its Arts assessment, NAEP takes on the task of measuring a subject that is thought to be difficult to assess. NAEP, with the help of resources, has developed an assessment to measure students abilities to observe, describe, analyze, evaluate, and create works of visual art and music. Read Full Post >>

July 5, 2017

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NAEP Study Puts State Standards to the Test2013 State Mapping Blog Header

How do states’ standards compare to one another? A new report from the National Center for Education Statistics finds that proficiency standards vary widely in fourth- and eighth-grade reading and mathematics. Read Full Post >>

July 9, 2015

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How NSLP Eligibility Has Changed Over the Last DecadeYoung student walking to school wearing a backpack with a brown paper lunch bag in his hand

How has the percentage of students eligible for the National School Lunch Program(NSLP) changed across the nation between 2003 and 2013? We created this animated map to show you. Read Full Post >>

FEBRUARY 25, 2015

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The Truth About Honors CoursesImage of a person using a knife to cut construction paper under against a ruler. There are other pieces of paper scattered about

A 2013 NAEP study investigated how well high school mathematics course content matched with course titles and descriptions. The study may prompt you to ask, "How many honors students are really getting an honors-level education?" Read Full Post >>

DECEMBER 22, 2014

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Students and Computers: Assessing the Writing Skills of Fourth-Graders on the ComputerStudents and Computers Image

Can the writing skills of young students be effectively assessed on the computer? NAEP recently released results of the Grade 4 Writing Computer-Based Assessment study, which explored this very question. Read Full Post >>

OCTOBER 15, 2014

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NAEP in the National Conversation: Black Male AchievementPresident Obama addresses young high school students. ​

President Obama's new focus on the achievement of Black male students has raised some big questions; for example, how do impoverished Black and White male students compare on NAEP? Read Full Post >>

JULY 23, 2014

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Five Things We’ve Learned from NAEP Grade 12 Mathematics and Reading ResultsHigh School Student Leaving for School

Did you miss the release of our NAEP 2013 mathematics and reading results for twelfth-graders? Here’s a quick recap of five important things we’ve learned. Read Full Post >>

MAY 15, 2014

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