Public Comment Sought for NAEP Civics Assessment Framework

Public Comment Sought for NAEP Civics Assessment Framework 

An important duty of the National Assessment Governing Board is developing and updating assessment frameworks for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), or The Nation’s Report Card. Frameworks guide the content of NAEP assessments.  

To prepare for a potential update of the NAEP Civics Assessment Framework, the Board is seeking public comment through March 27. The initial gathering of public comment is the first stage in a comprehensive multi-year process that, if the Board decides framework revisions are needed, will later involve multiple iterations of stakeholder feedback and an expert panel to guide the development of assessment questions and recommendations for contextual questionnaires administered to students, teachers, and schools. 

Individuals and organizations are invited to provide written comments and recommendations on the current civics framework that specifically address three questions:  

• Does the NAEP Civics Assessment Framework need to be updated? 
• If the framework needs to be updated, why is a revision needed? 
• What should a revision to the framework include?     

Your name and affiliation may be shared and discussed publicly with your comments in upcoming Governing Board meetings and materials unless you indicate that your comments can only be shared without attribution.  

If the Governing Board decides that an update is needed, the charge to launch the revision process for the NAEP Civics Framework is anticipated to be adopted at the May 2026 quarterly Board meeting. Each NAEP framework development and update process considers a wide set of factors, including but not limited to, reviews of recent research on teaching and learning, changes in state and local standards and assessments, and the latest perspectives on the nation’s future needs and desirable levels of achievement. 

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