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NATIONAL ASSESSMENT GOVERNING BOARD
History of the NAEP
Mathematics Framework
To achieve an appropriate balance of content and
refect a variety of ways of understanding and
applying mathematics, the 2011 Mathematics
Framework specifes that assessment questions
measure one of fve mathematical content areas:
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Number Properties and
Operations
– including computation and
understanding of number concepts
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Measurement
– including use of
instruments, application of processes, and
concepts of area and volume
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Geometry
– including spatial reasoning and
applying geometric properties
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Data Analysis, Statistics, and
Probability
– including graphical displays
and statistics
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Algebra
– including representations
and relationships
The main NAEP assessment is based on a framework,
such as this one, that may be updated periodically.
In comparison to the 2005 Mathematics Framework,
the 2009-2011 framework introduces a new subtopic
of mathematical reasoning at grades 4, 8, and 12, and
new clarifcations and examples that describe the
levels of mathematical complexity.
Content and Design
At grades 4 and 8, the framework and content
objectives for measuring math knowledge and
skills have been modifed somewhat since the early
1990s, allowing trend lines to continue from that
time through 2011. New content objectives were
introduced at grade 12 in the 2009 Mathematics
Framework, however, to identify the essential
mathematics knowledge and skills required for
college and workplace training.
The distribution of questions among these fve content
areas at each grade is a critical feature of the assessment
design because it refects the relative importance and
value given to each area on the assessment.
The design of NAEP involves multiple test booklets, with
questions distributed across booklets, so that students
taking part in the assessment do not all receive the same
questions. In NAEP mathematics, students take the
assessment for about 50 minutes total, consisting of two
25-minute sets of questions.
The assessment contains sets of questions for which
calculators are not allowed, and other blocks that
contain some questions that would be diffcult
to solve without a calculator. At each grade level,
about two-thirds of the blocks measure students’
mathematical knowledge and skills without access to
a calculator; the other one-third allows calculator use.