NAEP Study Puts State Standards to th​e Test

2013 State Mapping Blog Header.

For more than a decade, the National Center for Education Statistics has been mapping state standards to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in reading and mathematics in grades 4 and 8. This process of “state mapping” shows where each state’s standards lie on the NAEP scale.

​NCES has released the latest version of the state mapping report. Here are answers to three commonly asked questions about the report. ​

What are the main purposes of the mapping study?

The mapping study is designed to provide a common metric for comparing states’ standards for proficiency in reading and mathematics in grades 4 and 8. This allows states to see how their proficiency standards compare with the standards in other states, as well as the NAEP standard for proficiency. It also allows states to track changes in their state standards relative to NAEP and other states.

Why is NAEP used as the basis for comparison of state proficiency standards?

Each state administers its own assessment and sets its own standards for fourth- and eighth-grade reading and mathematics proficiency. Because states use different standards for “proficiency,” state standards cannot be compared directly; they need to be placed on a common metric. NAEP provides the common metric.

How are the states compared?

States’ standards are compared using the “NAEP scale equivalent score” corresponding to a state’s standard. The “NAEP scale equivalent score” is the point on the NAEP scale equivalent to the proficiency cut off point on a state’s assessment. NAEP scale equivalent scores are calculated separately for each state at each grade level (grades 4 and 8) in each subject (reading and mathematics).

Here is an example of how “mapping” works (see the figure below). In state A, 71 percent of students scored at or above the Proficiency cut point on its state assessment in a given subject and grade. If we look at the NAEP scale, we find that 71 percent of students in state A scored at or above 243 on NAEP in the same subject and grade. So, we say that 243 is the NAEP scale equivalent score for state A in the given subject and grade. The same process is done for state B, in which 71 percent of its students also scored at or above Proficient on its state exam. Seventy one percent of students in state B scored at or above 252 on NAEP, making this the NAEP equivalent score.

​The graph shows four vertical bars in two separate charts. On both charts the x axis to the left is titled “State Scale.” On both charts the x axis to the right is titled “500 NAEP Score.” The Y axis for the first vertical bar is labeled “Performance on State Assessment.” The Y axis for the second vertical bar is labeled “Performance on NAEP.” The two charts are comparing State A and State B. In the first chart, which represents State A, the column shows that 71 percent of students scored at or above the Proficiency cut point on its state assessments in a given subject and grade. The second column in the chart shows where State A would fall on the NAEP scale at 71 percent, which is at the NAEP equivalent score of 243. The same process is done for State B in the second chart. In the first column it shows where 71 percent of students in State B have scored at or above Proficient on the state exam. In the second column it shows that students scored at or above 252 on the NAEP equivalent score scale. These two charts show how two states can meet 71 percent of proficiency on their state standards but not be equivalent when mapped against NAEP’s proficiency standards.
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​​To see the results of this report visit http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pubs/studies/2015046​.aspx


​​​​​July 9, 2015​​

COMMENTS

I must be slow, as I had to read the how mapping works explanation more than once to wrap my head around it. Please correct me if I am wrong, but this is what I understand. In state A, 71% of students scored as proficient on the state assessment. To find the NAEP equivalent score, NAEP takes the top 71% from the NAEP assessment, and the lowest score is the NAEP equivalent mapping score for state A.

Posted on July 28, 2015


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