What is NAEP

NAEP's two major goals are to measure student achievement and to report changes in performance over time.

NAEP provides achievement information on nationally representative samples of students in grades 4, 8, and 12 and on state-level samples of students in grades 4 and 8.

NAEP reports performance by subgroups of students, e.g., by gender, by racial/ethnic group, by limited English proficiency (LEP), and by participation in special education programs.

NAEP assessments are implemented by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) with the help of contractors.

NAEP does NOT provide scores at the school or individual student levels.

Florida Participation in NAEP Assessments

If selected, schools must take part in NAEP as stated in Section 1008.22(2), F.S.

This statute makes specific reference to NAEP being used in Florida “both for national sample and for any state-by-state comparison programs,” and this information is to “be included in the annual report of the Commissioner of Education.”

NAEP is a part of the state assessment program because it provides a basis for comparing knowledge and skills of Florida students with students in other states and with the Nation as a whole.

Individual student participation in the assessment is voluntary, and parents can choose to have their child not participate, as stipulated in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-110).

Guidelines for Participation in NAEP

Schools are randomly selected from the Common Core of Data, a national database of schools.

A state sample typically has about 100 schools at each assessed grade level.

Not all schools in a district are selected, nor are all students in a school necessarily assessed.

For scores to be reported nationally, 85% of sampled schools must participate.

Parents must be notified before the administration of the assessment.

Unless 90% of the sampled students participate, a make-up session must be scheduled.

Scoring and reporting take approximately six months.