Who is assessed by NAEP?
NAEP assesses representative samples of students in certain grades or at certain ages in public and nonpublic schools in the United States. For the national assessments, NAEP samples students from grades 4, 8, and 12 in public and nonpublic schools. For long-term trend assessments, NAEP samples students at ages 9, 13, and 17. For the state assessments, NAEP samples students from grades 4 and 8 and assesses students in reading, mathematics, writing, and science. As part of the No Child Left Behind legislation, NAEP assesses fourth- and eighth-grade students every 2 years in reading and mathematics (beginning in 2003). NAEP does not provide scores for individual students; instead it offers results regarding subject-matter achievement, instructional experiences, and school environment for populations of students (e.g., grade 4) and subgroups of those populations (e.g., female students, Hispanic students). NAEP results are based on samples of these student populations of interest.
