Assessment» Assessment Home NAEP: Overview [Summary] The
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the only
nationally representative and continuing assessment of what
American students know and can do in various academic subjects
in grades 4, 8, and 12. Authorized and funded by Congress, it is
commonly known as the Nations Report Card. Its surveys have been
conducted on a national sample basis since 1969 in reading,
mathematics, science, writing, history, geography, and other
elementary and secondary school subjects. NAEP state-by-state
assessments also based on a representative sample of schools
began in 1990. Starting in 2002, NAEP also conducts the Trial
Urban District Assessment (TUDA) to study the feasibility of
district-level reporting as a component of the NAEP program.
Since 1982, the NAEP High School Transcript Study has been
undertaken in conjunction with the national NAEP to examine the
changes in high school course offerings and student course-
taking over time. A key feature of this s