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National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

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The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), often called The Nation’s Report Card, is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what students in public and private schools in the United States know and are able to do in various subjects. NAEP is governed by the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) and is conducted by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) which is part of the U.S. Department of Education. It is the only ongoing effort to obtain comprehensive and dependable achievement data on a national basis in a uniform and scientific manner. NAEP results are confidential. The names of the students who participate in NAEP never leave the school. Thus, results are not reported in terms of individual students. In Virginia results are only reported for the state as a whole or as part of the national results.

About NAEP

NAEP Assessment Schedule

  • The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) establishes the schedule for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessments and release of assessment results to the nation, states, and divisions.
  • Current and future assessment calendars can be found here NAEP Assessment Schedule.
  • All assessments take place between January and March, except for long-term trend (LTT) assessments. LTT assessments take place from October to May when administered.

NAEP Requirements

NAEP Sampling

To ensure that a representative sample of students is assessed, NAEP is given in a sample of schools whose students reflect the varying demographics of a specific jurisdiction, be it the nation, a state, or a division. Within each selected school and grade to be assessed, students are chosen at random to participate in NAEP. Every student has the same chance of being chosen—regardless of race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disability, status as an English language learner, or any other factors.

NAEP State Assessment Sample Design Frequently Asked Questions

Use of Data

  • The Results from NAEP are publicly available through NCES. The NAEP Data Explorer (NDE) allows the public to analyze results at the national (grades 4, 8, and 12) and state (grades 4 and 8) level with disaggregated achievement estimates being provided based on gender, race/ethnicity, socio-economic status, limited English proficiency and several other factors. This level of reporting is made possible through sophisticated student/school sampling techniques used by NCES/NAG to represent the nation as a whole and individual state.
  • The primary purpose NAEP is to measure the educational achievement and progress of the nation’s students at established grades and ages in relation to the content of NAEP frameworks. NAEP results also enable comparisons of what representative students know and can do among states and jurisdictions, among various demographic groups, and over time. NAEP results provide insight into K-12 education and student achievement in our nation. Because assessment results are based on samples of students, there are a number of factors to consider when drawing conclusions about NAEP data. Guides on how to interpret NAEP results and understand specific assessments (e.g. mathematics, reading, etc.) are also accessible in this document Intended Meaning of NAEP Results. 

Virginia NAEP Results

  • News Release, October 24, 2022– Reading and Mathematics includes overall results and comparisons – of 2022 results for Virginia and the nation – for grades 4 and 8 students.

For more information: Virginia NAEP Results from the National Center for Education Statistics