How is the HSTS Linked to NAEP?

By design, the High School Transcript Study (HSTS) and NAEP work in association with each other. HSTS focuses on high school graduates' coursetaking patterns, including the courses they took in different subject areas and the grades they received for those courses, but it does not independently assess students' knowledge within the different subject areas. NAEP, however, does measure educational achievement in various subject areas for twelfth-grade students. And, because the transcripts for HSTS are collected from the same students in the same sample of schools in which the NAEP twelfth grade assessments are given, the results from the HSTS and NAEP assessment can be linked.

Eligible schools participating in NAEP are informed about the HSTS when they receive information about NAEP. Schools are provided with information about participating in the HSTS, including procedures that would be used to ensure confidentiality of the data, and the amount and nature of school staff time required for participating in the HSTS. For schools that agree to cooperate, students sampled for NAEP are included in the HSTS sample. Transcripts are requested for all students who are assessed, for sampled students who are absent during assessment, and for the SD/LEP students who are sampled but excluded by the school from participating in the NAEP assessment.

In order for a transcript to become part of the "linked" database, both a completed NAEP assessment and a completed (usable) transcript from HSTS must be obtained for a student. This link enables policy makers, researchers, education agencies, and any other interested party to examine the relationship between student coursetaking patterns and educational achievement in select course subjects, as measured by NAEP.

The 2019 High School Transcript Study was conducted with a nationally representative sample of approximately 47,000 high school graduates from about 1,400 schools (both public and nonpublic). All graduates included in the HSTS study were enrolled in schools that participated in the NAEP science and mathematics assessments.

Explore the results from the 2019 High School Transcript Study, or refer to the following HSTS technical publications:

• About the 2019 NAEP High School Transcript Study (HSTS)
• The 2009 High School Transcript Study User's Guide
• The 2005 High School Transcript User's Guide and Technical Report
• The 2000 High School Transcript Study User's Guide and Technical Report
• The 1998 High School Transcript Study User's Guide and Technical Report
• The 1994 High School Transcript Study Technical Report

Learn how the courses are classified.