NAEP Data Informs Policy and Practice

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) provides a common measure of student achievement across the country. Policymakers, educators, the assessment community, and the media use NAEP to improve education. NAEP data informs educational policy and practice by

• reporting the achievement of various student groups, 
  
• analyzing NAEP results in the context of educational experiences, and 
  
• providing tools and resources for data analysis.
  

In Connecticut, NAEP survey questionnaire data revealed that grade 12 African American and Hispanic students were less likely than their White and Asian/Pacific Islander peers to take advanced mathematics courses. These data informed early efforts to address uneven opportunity to learn and reduce achievement gaps. Today, Connecticut’s accountability system includes an expectation that all students have the chance to experience challenging coursework in high school.

NAEP survey questionnaire data showed that eighth- and twelfth-grade students in Iowa were less likely than their peers across the country to take advanced mathematics courses. This information led the Statewide Mathematics Leadership Team—a team of district and regional educators focused on supporting mathematics instruction, assessment, and professional development—to take action to encourage higher levels of mathematics enrollment across Iowa.

Oregon

To address the state’s growing economy and workforce needs, Oregon referenced grade 4 NAEP mathematics data to shape a STEM Education Plan in 2016. This plan was established to develop important science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills for students of all races, economic status, and regions.

Detroit, Michigan

In 2009, the NAEP assessment revealed that Detroit schoolchildren ranked the lowest in the nation in both grades 4 and 8. In response to the alarming results, The Detroit Free Press partnered with the Detroit Public Schools (DPS) to create and implement a new reading initiative, The Call to Action for a new Reading Corps, which encouraged citizens to volunteer 100,000 hours collectively to tutor reading in DPS schools.

North Carolina

In 2005, results from the NAEP reading assessment revealed that eighth grade students in North Carolina scored below the national average. In response, the state deployed more than 200 literacy coaches to middle schools around the state to help teachers reach students with reading difficulties before they made the transition to high school.