Wise and Proper Use of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Data

This article provides examples of how serious misconceptions can result when only "all student" scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are used for simplistic state-to-state comparisons. Suggestions for better treatment are presented. The article also compares Kentucky's eighth grade EXPLORE testing to NAEP results for the same cohorts, finding that NAEP math and reading proficiency rates are astonishingly close to the reported percentages of those same students scoring at or above the EXPLORE Benchmark scores, which indicate those students are on track for success in college.