The educational achievement and attainment of young people in the United States has been a long-standing issue of concern. While analyses of long-term trend data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show that students in the United States have made gains in reading and mathematics over the past few decades, a sizeable…

A selection of articles on National Assessment of Educational Progress, which measures American education, is presented with varying points of view. The introductory editorial reflects on the progress of National Assessment in measuring learning and in achieving its goal of sound rational decisions about the future of American education. The…

Describes the creation and objectives of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), and reviews the findings of an evaluation of the NAEP, published in "Measuring the Quality of Education," by Wirtz and Lapointe. Focuses on the role that the NAEP can play in establishing uniform, national educational standards. (GC)

Task 4 of an investigation coordinated by a committee working under the auspices of the National Council for Social Studies describes the model used by the National Assessment for data gathering and reporting on the citizenship area and discusses its potential uses for state and local assessment, curriculum development, and accountability…