Public Comments Available on NAEP Testing and Reporting of Students with Disabilities and English Language Learners

WASHINGTON (December 18, 2009) — The National Assessment Governing Board posted on its Web site a list of public comments on recommendations of uniform national rules for administering the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to students with disabilities (SD) and English language learners (ELL).

The comments—posted verbatim and unedited—include those directly sent to Governing Board staff as well as those submitted in conjunction with two recent public hearings in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles designed to receive feedback on the recommendations by two expert panels on NAEP in regards to SD and ELL students.

The Governing Board, which sets policy for NAEP, has established an Ad Hoc Committee of Board members to conduct a comprehensive examination of NAEP testing and reporting of these two student groups. The Committee appointed two technical advisory panels to recommend uniform national rules for NAEP testing of SD and ELL students to better assure that NAEP samples are fully representative and produce comparable results.

These panels reported to the Board at its quarterly meeting in August, and now the Board plans to consult widely before deciding whether or not to adopt the expert panel recommendations, most likely at its next meeting in March 2010.

Written comments are available, as well as the full reports and recommendations of the advisory panels for ELL testing and SD testing.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress is the only nationally representative, continuing evaluation of the condition of education in the United States. It has served as a national yardstick of student achievement since 1969. Through the Nation's Report Card, NAEP informs the public about what American students know and can do in various subject areas and compares achievement between states, large urban districts, and various student demographic groups.
The National Assessment Governing Board is an independent, bipartisan board whose members include governors, state legislators, local and state school officials, educators, business representatives and members of the general public. Congress created the 26-member Governing Board in 1988 to oversee and set policy for NAEP.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a congressionally authorized project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The National Center for Education Statistics, within the Institute of Education Sciences, administers NAEP. The Commissioner of Education Statistics is responsible by law for carrying out the NAEP project.