NAEP: An Indicator of Student Achievement

NAEP is the Federal Government's primary indicator of the Nation's educational achievement, and has been used to monitor student achievement in mathematics, science, reading, writing, and other subjects for nearly 20 years. (Click here for footnote 3.) The NAEP tests are "low-stakes" ones: students are randomly selected for participation in NAEP testing, and their performance is not individually scored. (See "Student Motivation and NAEP Achievement.") The most recent mathematics NAEP was administered in 1992, and its results are reported on later in this section. The results from the 1990 assessments in mathematics and science tests allowed NAEP to perform a 17-year trend analysis in math, and a 20-year trend analysis in science (ETS 1991b.). The results of these trend analyses are discussed below. (Click here for footnote 4.)

Footnote 3:

The mathematics NAEP was first conducted in 1972/73; it was then conducted every 4 years between 1977/78 and 1989/90, and the most recent math NAEP was administered in 1992. The science NAEP, which began in 1969/70, has followed the same schedule as the mathematics NAEP since 1982; it was not conducted in 1992.

The 1990 NAEP included a Trial State Assessment Program that assessed mathematics achievement of eighth grade public school students. Thirty-seven States plus the District of Columbia, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands volunteered to participate in this program. The 1992 mathematics NAEP included a somewhat expanded state assessment component; this tested fourth and eighth grade students in 41 States plus the District of Columbia, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Footnote 4:

The NAEP achievement scales range from 0 to 500 for both mathematics and science, but the scales are not equivalent. Within each subject, the scales permit comparison among groups, such as grades or demographic subgroups. The 1990 mathematics scale was computed using a weighted composite of proficiency on the five content area subscales: numbers and operations; measurement; geometry; data analysis, statistics, and probability; and algebra and functions (ETS 1991a). To help interpret the 0-500 point scale, NAEP developed characterizations of two scales--the 1990 mathematics scale and the trend scale--using proficiency levels which represent five anchor points on the 500-point scale (Research, Evaluation, and Dissemination Division 1993). The discussions in this chapter refer to the trend scale. The anchor descriptions can be found in appendix table 1-10.

The science scale was computed using a weighted composite of proficiency in the following four content area subscales: life sciences, physical sciences, earth and space sciences, and nature of science (NCES 1992e). To help interpret the 0 to 500 point scale for science, NAEP developed descriptions associated with each level that can be used as guides to performances typical of students at each level. The descriptions of these anchor points can be found in appendix table 1-12.

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