Governing Board Sets 10-Year Vision with the Nation’s Report Card Assessment Schedule
For immediate release, Nov. 17, 2023
Contact: Stephaan Harris, (202) 357-7504, Stephaan.Harris@ed.gov
Governing Board Sets 10-Year Vision with the Nation’s Report Card Assessment Schedule
The Board also adopts updates to science framework for the Nation’s Report Card
Washington, D.C. — The National Assessment Governing Board approved a 10-year schedule of assessments for the Nation’s Report Card (also called the National Assessment of Educational Progress or NAEP), setting a roadmap for understanding students’ progress on the only nationally representative assessment of achievement.
“This schedule enables policymakers and educators to plan for, and ultimately act on, results that show how U.S. students are doing academically,” said Beverly Perdue, National Assessment Governing Board chair and former North Carolina governor. The Governing Board sets policy for the Nation’s Report Card, the common measure for understanding the nation’s progress in math, reading, science, U.S. history, civics, and writing.
“Given the steep declines we’ve seen on the Nation’s Report Card and achievement gaps that worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s critical that all leaders use the Nation’s Report Card to create the learning opportunities students need,” continued Perdue.
The 2024 schedule includes assessing math and reading in grades 4 and 8 across the nation, in 53 states and jurisdictions, and in more than 25 urban districts (TUDA). The assessment is also given in 12th grade in those subjects at the national level. Last year’s results illuminated drastic changes in achievement associated with the pandemic. The upcoming results will be an important indicator of the degree to which students are progressing academically. This upcoming administration also marks the first NAEP Science assessment at grade 8 since 2019.
The assessment schedule updates look farther out, beginning in 2028, and amend what grades are assessed and at what levels (state and TUDA). The changes include adding grade 8 science and grade 8 civics at the state level, which will provide actionable data for states to improve learning.
“We want to ensure a broad understanding of student learning by assessing a range of subjects critical to student success, which is why the Board prioritizes science, U.S. history, civics, and writing, and provides that information at the state level,” said Martin West, Governing Board member and professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
This schedule will enable the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to plan and align contracting solicitations that begin in early 2024
Updates to the Nation’s Report Card in Science
The Board also approved an updated Science Assessment Framework that will guide the content and design of the NAEP science assessment. The NAEP Science Assessment Framework describes the knowledge and skills students should be able to demonstrate in physical, life, and earth and space sciences in grades 4, 8, and 12.
The updated framework keeps pace with the evolving field of science and K-12 science instruction and assessment. The substantive changes to the framework include a greater emphasis on:
- Disciplinary concepts, or well-tested theories and explanations;
- Science and engineering practices, or the ways in which scientists develop scientific explanations of phenomena or how they design engineering solutions to problems; and
- Crosscutting concepts, or concepts used across science disciplines that allow scientists to apply knowledge to new phenomena or problems.
The NAEP science assessment is administered every four years, providing the nation’s largest continuing and representative assessment of science learning. The updated framework is scheduled for use beginning in 2028.
Download the PDF version of the release here.
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The National Assessment Governing Board is an independent, nonpartisan board whose members include governors, state legislators, local and state school officials, educators, business representatives and members of the general public. Congress created the Governing Board in 1988 to set policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress. For more information about the Governing Board, visit www.nagb.gov.