Changes Made in NAEP Assessment Schedule Pave Way for Linking to TIMSS and PIRLS

WASHINGTON (May 27, 2010) — The National Assessment Governing Board approved a round of changes to the schedule of subjects tested under the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), with some of those changes allowing NAEP to link to international assessments in 2011 and beyond.

At its quarterly meeting in May, the Governing Board—which sets policy for NAEP—approved an assessment schedule with additions and postponements for 2013, 2015, and 2017 in a variety of subjects such as writing, reading, mathematics, and science. These updates build upon changes approved last March by the Board, which cancelled the 2011 4th grade writing assessment at the national and state levels; added a 2011 8th grade science assessment at the national and state levels; and postponed the technology and engineering literacy assessment from 2012 to 2014.

Assessment schedule changes made in both March and May will now allow the Board to conduct statistical linking studies in 2011 between NAEP and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in 8th grade mathematics and science, and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) in 4th grade reading.

The Governing Board had passed a resolution in November 2009 unanimously supporting the studies to link NAEP with international assessments. Through this linking in 2011, NAEP would provide the public reports comparing achievement among states and at the same time indicate how states would measure up on international assessments in reading, math and science.

For example, state NAEP results would show how well the respective 4th and 8th-graders performed, how the states compare with each other, and also how the states would have done on the international assessments. Thus, states—and the public—will be able to gauge local performance in relation to other nations, such as Taiwan, Japan, Germany, and England.

Below is a comprehensive list of assessment schedule changes by year approved in May by the Governing Board.

2013:

• Add writing at grade 4 (national), a new computer-based assessment
• Add reading at grade 12 (state)
• Add mathematics at grade 12 (state)
• Postpone science at grades 4, 8 and 12 (national) until 2015
• Postpone science at grades 4 and 8 (state) until 2015
• Postpone the High School Transcript Study until 2015

2015:

• Add reading at grade 12 (national and state)
• Add mathematics at grade 12 (national and state)
• Add science at grade 12 (state)
• Postpone writing at grades 4 and 8 (national and state) until 2017

2017:

• Add reading at grade 12 (state)
• Add mathematics at grade 12 (state)
• Add writing at grade 12 (state)
• Postpone science at grades 4, 8, and 12 (national and state)
• Postpone the High School Transcript Study

NAEP Assessment Schedule

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.