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National Assessments

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as "the Nation's Report Card," is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas. NAEP does not provide scores for individual students or schools; instead, it offers results regarding subject-matter achievement for populations of students (e.g., fourth-graders) and groups within those populations (e.g., female students, Hispanic students). National and state NAEP results are based on a sample of such student populations.

Assessment Window

The NAEP will be administered to samples of fourth-or-eighth-grade students from January 29 through March 8, 2024. Students will be assessed in mathematics or reading. Students will spend about 90 to 120 minutes completing the assessment, including answering questions in one subject area and answering questions about themselves and their educational experiences. Most students will take the assessment on tablets with keyboards provided by NAEP representatives. A subset of students will take paper-and-pencil versions of the assessment. NAEP is administering the assessments via both tablets and paper booklets to evaluate any differences in student performance. Each student will be assessed in only one subject and in one type of administration.

Each school principal and the teachers of the subjects being assessed will also complete a questionnaire. As principals, you are essential partners in NAEP. You make an important contribution to NAEP by working closely with your students, teachers and staff and explaining why the assessment is important.