• From "http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/"

    Overview:

    The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the largest nationally representativ​e and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas. Paper-and-pencil assessments are conducted periodically in mathematics, reading,science, writing, the arts, civics, economics,geography, U.S. history, and in Technology and Engineering Literacy​ (TEL). Beginning in 2017, NAEP will begin administeringtechnology-based assessments (TBA) for mathematics, reading, and writing, with additional subjects added in 2018 and 2019.

    A Common Yardstick

    Since NAEP assessments are administered uniformly using the same sets of test booklets across the nation, NAEP results serve as a common metric for all states and selected urban districts. The assessment stays essentially the same from year to year, with only carefully documented changes. This permits NAEP to provide a clear p​icture of student academic progress over time.

    As NAEP moves into computer-based assessments, the assessment administration will remain uniform continuing the importance of NAEP as a common metric. Read more about the future of the NAEP assessment. 
     
    What NAEP Does - and Doesn't - Report
     
    NAEP provides results on subject-matter achievement, instructional experiences, and school environment for populations of students (e.g., all fourth-graders) and groups within those populations (e.g., female students, Hispanic students). NAEP does not provide scores for individual students or schools, although state NAEP can report results by selected large urban districts. NAEP results are based on representative samples of students at grades 4, 8, and 12 for the main assessments, or samples of students at ages 9, 13, or 17 years for the long-term trend assessment. These grades and ages were chosen because they represent critical junctures in academic achievement.

    There are two NAEP websites: one dealing with the different components of the NAEP assessment and one presenting the results. When NAEP results are reported, they become part of "The Nation's Report Card." To find results from a particular assessment quickly, use the table at The Nation's Report Card website. Now, you can see NAEP results even on the go—download the NAEP Results Mobile App, for Android and iOS

    Who Runs NAEP?

    The Commissioner of Education Statistics, who heads the National Center for Education Statistics in the U.S. Department of Education, is responsible by law for carrying out the NAEP project. The National Assessment Governing Board, appointed by the Secretary of Education but independent of the Department, sets policy for NAEP and is responsible for developing the framework and test specifications that serve as the blueprint for the assessments. The Governing Board is a bipartisan group whose members include governors, state legislators, local and state school officials, educators, business representatives, and members of the general public. Congress created the 26-member Governing Board in 1988. The NAEP assessment operations are carried out with assistance from contractors​.