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Next Gen NAEP

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Modernizing and Improving the Nation’s Report Card

Next Gen NAEP is an initiative to modernize NAEP, while maintaining its gold standard reputation and prioritizing its three-decade trendline of student learning in math and reading.

NAEP is the only common measure of what U.S. students know and can do, providing invaluable insights about student learning across the nation, states, and more than 25 urban districts. These essential features will continue while Next Gen NAEP looks to make the program even more efficient and useful to key education stakeholders, such as district leaders and policymakers.

The Next Gen NAEP initiative will examine:

  • How can technology and AI speed up NAEP development and reporting timelines?
  • How can we modernize and improve the NAEP platform and technology infrastructure?
  • How can NAEP data become easier to access and use? 
  • What cost savings can be realized and reinvested into reporting more state-level NAEP data in subjects beyond math and reading?
  • How can we minimize the burden for students, schools, and districts while reporting more state-level NAEP data? 

Next Gen NAEP will use a human-centered design process that builds off insights and recommendations from a wide range of experts and stakeholders and will evaluate and test innovations to improve NAEP’s development, analysis, reporting, and dissemination. The project will culminate with an actionable roadmap the Governing Board and NCES will use to guide policymaking and implementation for the NAEP program. The initiative will  generate a series of publicly available reports for the field.

Next Gen NAEP kicks off in February 2026 with the first design sprint in April 2026. The initiative will conclude in early 2027. 

Next Gen NAEP Partners

At the request of the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences, the National Assessment Governing Board, in partnership with the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), is convening the Next Generation NAEP Advisory Committee to provide expert guidance throughout the initiative.

Next Generation NAEP Advisory Committee

The Next Generation NAEP Advisory Committee consists of experts in assessment, technology, policy, artificial intelligence, data analytics, and human-centered design. Additional members will be announced shortly.

  • Matthew Soldner, Acting Director, Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and Acting Commissioner, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
  • Martin West, Vice Chair, National Assessment Governing Board
  • Lesley Muldoon, Executive Director, National Assessment Governing Board
  • Daniel McGrath, Former Associate Commissioner for Assessment Division, NCES (Retired)
  • Jack Buckley, Vice President of People and People Science and Analytics, Roblox; former NCES Commissioner
  • Andrew Ho, Charles William Eliot Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education; former member, National Assessment Governing Board
  • Marianne Perie, President, Measurement in Practice
  • Okan Bulut, Professor of Measurement, Evaluation, and Data Science, Centre for Research in Applied Measurement & Evaluation, University of Alberta
  • Kevin Huffman, Founding CEO, Accelerate; former Tennessee Commissioner of Education
  • Jessica Baghian, President, Watershed Advisors; former Louisiana Assistant Superintendent for Assessment and Accountability
  • Chad Aldeman, Founder, Read Not Guess; Columnist, The 74
  • Kathleen Brandenburg, Co-Founder and Co-CEO at IA Collaborative; Design Lecturer, Masters in Design Engineering (MDE) Program, Harvard University

Education First serves as project manager and lead researcher of Next Gen NAEP and will publish public-facing resources for the field. The Institute of Design at Illinois Tech will lead a structured design process to identify core solutions and test real prototypes with NAEP users. 

Next Gen NAEP Funding

The Chicago Community Trust serves as the independent fiscal sponsor to manage philanthropic funds supporting the project.

Next Gen NAEP Engagement

Next Gen NAEP starts with — and is steeped in — the needs of the program's many stakeholders, those tasked with making important decisions which shape students’ educational experiences; members of the media who use NAEP in their reporting; researchers who use NAEP to answer important questions about student learning; the general public who want to have a broad understanding of U.S. achievement, and more.

To stay updated on Next Gen NAEP, sign up for the Governing Board’s newsletters and attend the Board’s quarterly meetings.