Once said to be off limits, the Trump administration cancels one of the NAEP exams
What is the canceled NAEP long-term trend test?
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The tests do not include state-level data, but they do report data by race, gender, and region, among other categories, and are a measurement of the country's educational progress.
The canceled test is only for 17-year-olds, and was
The department 'decided not to fund' the test, according to an email to state officials
When has the test been canceled before?
The nation's 17-year-olds have not actually been tested since 2012. The 2016 and 2020 tests were
Younger students were assessed in 2022 and 2023, but this spring's test of high schoolers would have been the first national data on that age group in well over a decade.
Thomas Kane, a Harvard economist who is part of a team that uses NAEP exams to
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'The 17-year-old [test]s have always been problematic because high school graduation rates were changing and the composition of 17-year-olds that were still enrolled in school was changing,' Kane said.
High school dropout rates have fallen dramatically, meaning many 17-year-olds are tested who in prior decades would have already dropped out of school, making the data less reliable.
Still, the main NAEP tests began only in the 1990s, meaning the long-term trend data is necessary for comparisons further back.
What does this mean for the main NAEP?
A member of the National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees the tests, said he was not authorized to comment and directed the Globe to the the Department of Education's communications office, which said the agency continues to support the NAEP and transparency around measuring achievement.
Other NAEP assessments, including the main tests
The NAEP is congressionally mandated, but the Education Department has canceled at least one other related contract, 'for conducting background checks on field staff who administer NAEP tests in schools,' the 74 reported. That contract will be re-evaluated and potentially rebid, Biedermann said.
Why does the National Assessment of Educational Progress matter?
Despite federal promises that the main exam won't be compromised, some researchers question whether the cancelation of the LTT at all foreshadows what may come.
Federal law requires states conduct their own assessments, like the MCAS in Massachusetts, but the NAEP serves as a shared baseline to compare states and over time. The tests have provided important evidence of the dramatic learning loss experienced by America's students during the COVID-19, and the
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The
tests are particularly useful, Kane noted, for allowing comparison over time — particularly as
'My concern is the main NAEP — the one that is the source of state level estimates every two years,' Kane said. 'If we want states to be able to design and administer their own tests (and update those tests when necessary), we need the NAEP in order to preserve comparability across states and over time. '
Christopher Huffaker can be reached at
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