Student Assessment

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has frequently been called the "The Nation's Report Card." It is the only national assessment of what America’s students know and can do in various subject areas.

As a result of the "No Child Left Behind" legislation, all states are required to participate in NAEP. Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, all schools in Illinois that are part of the sample drawn by the National Center for Education Statistics shall administer the biennial State academic assessments of 4th and 8th grade reading and mathematics under NAEP.

Our goal is to partner with those schools in Illinois that are selected to participate in NAEP. We will provide assistance in making connections between the NAEP Frameworks and the Illinois Learning Standards.

NAEP Demonstration sample questions booklets for reading and mathematics assessments are available for grades 4, 8 and 12 at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/booklets.asp. These booklets contain a description of each assessment, assessment directions, background questionnaires, and sample questions.

The NAEP Questions Tool http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/itmrlsx/landing.aspx provides easy access to NAEP questions, student responses, and scoring guides that are released to the public since 1990. These released NAEP questions are available for grades 4, 8, and 12 in the various subject areas.

The NAEP Data Explorer http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/naepdata/ allows the public to analyze NAEP results by subject area over time for the nation, states, and other jurisdictions. The public is able to create their own unique reports from the NAEP Data Explorer.

Administration of State NAEP

Each participating state is responsible for the data collection in the state. To carry out this responsibility, the Illinois State Board of Education has appointed Andy Metcalf as the NAEP State Coordinator.

School Participation in NAEP

The National Center for Education Statistics selected over 500 schools in Illinois to participate in the 2013 NAEP assessment. Each selected school has access to a secure website called MySchool and access to the NAEP help desk at 1-800-283-6237. The MySchool website contains school-specific information and useful facts about what to expect during the assessment process.

NAEP Information for Parents

What Every Parent Should Know About NAEP Brochure

If your child has been asked to participate in NAEP, you will find answers to parents' commonly asked questions in these new pages. To learn more about the importance of the NAEP program and exactly what participation means for your child please visit http://www.nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/parents/. In addition, you can see many examples of the types of questions your child will be asked in a NAEP assessment. You can also explore your state's performance on past assessments, ask further questions, and submit comments.

NAEP Information for School Coordinators

Every school selected for NAEP must have a School Coordinator assigned by the Principal. Below the NAEP School Coordinator’s responsibilities are listed.