Public Comments Now Available on NAEP Testing and Reporting of Students with Disabilities and English Language Learners

WASHINGTON (March 06, 2009)—The National Assessment Governing Board posted on its Web site a list of public comments on policy options for testing and reporting of students with disabilities (SD) and English language learners (ELL) on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

The 18 comments—posted verbatim and unedited—include those directly sent to Governing Board staff as well as those submitted in conjunction with two recent public hearings in Washington, D.C. and El Paso, Texas, designed to obtain feedback on the policy options. SD and ELL policy options are under consideration because of concern that differences in accommodation and exclusion rates among the states and districts participating in NAEP, also known as the Nation's Report Card, may jeopardize the fairness and validity of state comparisons and other NAEP data and trends.

Governing Board members expect comments made by those attending the hearings and submitted in written form will help produce policy recommendations that will be made by the Board's Ad Hoc Committee, which is leading a comprehensive examination of NAEP testing and reporting of SD and ELL students. The full Board will consider the policy recommendations for action in 2009. Full comments are available by contacting NAGB's office at (202) 357-6938.

Summaries of these comments organized by public hearing location and by policy option are posted at SD-ELL Policy Options Comments Compilation.doc.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress is the only nationally representative, continuing evaluation of the condition of education in the United States. It has served as a national yardstick of student achievement since 1969. Through the Nation's Report Card, NAEP informs the public about what American students know and can do in various subject areas and compares achievement between states, large urban districts, and various student demographic groups.
The National Assessment Governing Board is an independent, bipartisan board whose members include governors, state legislators, local and state school officials, educators, business representatives and members of the general public. Congress created the 26-member Governing Board in 1988 to oversee and set policy for NAEP.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a congressionally authorized project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The National Center for Education Statistics, within the Institute of Education Sciences, administers NAEP. The Commissioner of Education Statistics is responsible by law for carrying out the NAEP project.