The National Assessment Governing Board has launched a major, widely-inclusive project to develop the framework and specifications for the national assessment of reading in 2007. Among its key features will be a nationwide process for receiving input from parents, teachers, and interested members of the public. There also will be two sets of research reviews and issues papers so the Board will be able to consider different points of view.

The Governing Board awarded a $1.1 million contract for managing the development project and preparing the assessment framework to the American Institutes for Research (AIR), a non-profit corporation with strong expertise in education research and assessment. Participating as subcontractor will be the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), which has played an important role in developing many previous assessments for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

In addition to the research review and issues paper prepared by AIR and CCSSO, the Board will also consider papers prepared by the Education Leaders Council (ELC) in conjunction with the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. NAGB will pay $77,000 for their work.

"The Board believes it is important to consider different points of view on reading assessment," said Roy Truby, Executive Director of the Governing Board. "Then the two issues papers will help the Board frame the issues it wants to be considered in deciding how NAEP will test reading comprehension in the future."

The current NAEP reading assessment framework for grades 4, 8, and 12 was adopted by NAGB twelve years ago. It has been used to report national and state trends since 1992. Reading assessments based on this framework are scheduled for 2003 and 2005, and under the No Child Left Behind Act, all states will be required to participate in fourth and eighth grades.

The framework development committees for 2007 will consist of teachers, reading and test experts, and others with a wide range of backgrounds, including parents, local and state policy makers, and representatives of business and the general public.

The two sets of issues papers and research reviews will be presented to the Board by the end of this year. The project will submit its final recommendations for Board action by late 2003.

One major issue is whether to continue the current NAEP assessment with only limited changes in order to maintain state NAEP trends for grades 4 and 8 or to adopt a much different framework, reflecting new views of reading development, and start a new trend. Other issues may include how the 12th grade assessment might better incorporate reading and analytical skills needed for college and whether NAEP achievement levels should be redefined. The research reviews will include summaries of scientific evidence on reading development and analyses of state reading standards and assessments.

"The process will be open to all points of view, but recent scientific research on reading should play a decisive role in what we do," said Darvin Winick, chairman of the independent, bipartisan Governing Board. "We are trying to make sure that NAEP provides the most useful information possible on how well American students can read and on trends in student achievement."

The Education Leaders Council is a group of state school superintendents, board members, and others, founded in 1995. The Fordham Institute is an education research and policy center, affiliated with the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation.

The framework development project will include deliberations by a broadly-based policy steering committee, an assessment planning committee, and a technical advisory panel. The planning group will be headed by Michael L. Kamil, Stanford University professor of language and literacy. Kamil was chairman of the comprehension subgroup of the National Reading Panel that reported to Congress in 2000. In addition, there will be forums and other opportunities for input and comment by educators and the public.

The assessment framework that the project is expected to prepare will describe the purposes, methodology, and format of the NAEP reading assessment, and give criteria for selecting reading passages and writing test questions. The specifications, or test blueprint, will provide detailed directions for assessment design and test items. The project will also prepare preliminary descriptions of the basic, proficient, and advanced achievement levels, or may incorporate NAEP's existing achievement levels in its work.

The National Assessment Governing Board, composed of state and local officials, educators, and business and public representatives, was established by Congress in 1988 to set policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

NAEP surveys have been conducted on a national sample basis since 1969. State-level surveys in reading, mathematics, writing, and science began in 1990. The NAEP program is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics of the U.S. Department of Education. It currently is conducted under contract by Educational Testing Service, Westat, Inc., and several other testing and research organizations.