Governing Board Awards Contract to ACT
to Prepare 12^th Grade Math Achievement Levels

The National Assessment Governing Board has awarded a $1.5 million contract to ACT, Inc., of Iowa City, to prepare recommendations for setting new achievement levels for 12^th grade mathematics on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

If approved by the Board, the new standards would first be used in 2005 when the NAEP 12^th grade mathematics test introduces substantial new content, including more advanced algebra and geometry.

In fourth and eighth grade mathematics, only slight changes are being made in the 2005 NAEP assessment. The present score scale and achievement levels, going back to 1990, will be maintained.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress is the only mathematics assessment given to a nationally-representative sample of 12^th graders across the United States. In fourth and eighth grades NAEP is administered both to a national sample and to representative samples of public school students in each state.

The new 18-month contract provides for wide consultation with teachers, subject-matter specialists, and parent and public representatives across the country. There is also a substantial research and validation component. ACT will convene a committee of testing experts, including university scholars and state assessment officials, to advise on technical aspects of its work.

ACT, formerly known as American College Testing, is a non-profit organization that prepares and administers one of the nation's largest college admissions and placement exams. It also has extensive experience in setting standards in many fields, and managed the standard-setting process used for seven NAEP assessments, including math, from 1992 to 2000.

The new standard-setting in math may use different procedures than NAEP has used in the past, but these will be compared to previous methodologies before the Board decides which levels to adopt.

The achievement levels describe what students should know and be able to do on NAEP exams and establish the scores needed to meet three standards-Basic, Proficient, and Advanced. The proportion of students reaching the standards is the primary means of reporting NAEP results.

The 26-member National Assessment Governing Board, established by Congress in 1988, sets policy for the National Assessment. It is composed of state and local officials, educators, and business and public representatives. By statute, the Board is responsible for determining the content of NAEP assessments and for setting "appropriate student achievement levels" for each grade and subject tested.

The assessment is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics, a division of the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education.