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NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS

NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS

Appendix A

Statute Authorizing the

National Assessment of Educational Progress

Request for System Clearance for 

NAEP Assessments for 2014-2016 

OMB# 1850-0790 v.36
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P.L. 107–279, Signed by President Bush November 5, 2002, which amended P.L. 107–

110, Signed by President Bush January 8, 2002

TITLE III—NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS SEC. 

301. SHORT TITLE.

SEC. 303. NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS.

a. ESTABLISHMENT- The Commissioner for Education Statistics shall, with the 

advice of the Assessment Board established under section 302, carry out, 

through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements with one or more qualified 

organizations, or consortia thereof, a National Assessment of Educational 

Progress, which collectively refers to a national assessment, State assessments, 

and a long-term trend assessment in reading and mathematics.

b. PURPOSE; STATE ASSESSMENTS-

(1) PURPOSE- The purpose of this section is to provide, in a timely

manner, a fair and accurate measurement of student academic achievement 

and reporting of trends in such achievement in reading, mathematics, and 

other subject matter as specified in this section.

(2) MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING- The Commissioner for 

Education Statistics, in carrying out the measurement and reporting 

described in paragraph (1), shall--

A. use a random sampling process which is consistent with relevant, 

widely accepted professional assessment standards and that 

produces data that are representative on a national and regional 

basis;

B. conduct a national assessment and collect and report assessment 

data, including achievement data trends, in a valid and reliable 

manner on student academic achievement in public and private 

elementary schools and secondary schools at least once every 2 

years, in grades 4 and 8 in reading and mathematics;

C. conduct a national assessment and collect and report assessment 

data, including achievement data trends, in a valid and reliable 

manner on student academic achievement in public and private 

schools in reading and mathematics in grade 12 in regularly 

scheduled intervals, but at least as often as such assessments were 
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conducted prior to the date of enactment of the No Child Left 

Behind Act of 2001;

D. to the extent time and resources allow, and after the requirements 

described in subparagraph (B) are implemented and the 

requirements described in subparagraph (C) are met, conduct 

additional national assessments and collect and report assessment 

data, including achievement data trends, in a valid and reliable 

manner on student academic achievement in grades 4, 8, and 12 in 

public and private elementary schools and secondary schools in 

regularly scheduled intervals in additional subject matter, including 

writing, science, history, geography, civics, economics, foreign 

languages, and arts, and the trend assessment described in 

subparagraph (F);

E. conduct the reading and mathematics assessments described in 

subparagraph (B) in the same year, and every other year thereafter, 

to provide for 1 year in which no such assessments are conducted 

in between each administration of such assessments;

F. continue to conduct the trend assessment of academic achievement 

at ages 9, 13, and 17 for the purpose of maintaining data on longterm trends in reading and mathematics;

G. include information on special groups, including, whenever 

feasible, information collected, cross tabulated, compared, and 

reported by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, disability

and limited English proficiency; and

H. ensure that achievement data are made available on a timely basis 

following official reporting, in a manner that facilitates further 

analysis and that includes trend lines.

(3) STATE ASSESSMENTSI. IN GENERAL- The Commissioner for Education Statistics--

(i) shall conduct biennial State academic assessments of 

student achievement in reading and mathematics in grades 4 

and 8 as described in paragraphs (2)(B) and (2)(E);

(ii) may conduct the State academic assessments of student 

achievement in reading and mathematics in grade 12 as 

described in paragraph (2)(C);

(iii) may conduct State academic assessments of student 

achievement in grades 4, 8, and 12 as described in paragraph 
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(2)(D); and

(iv) shall conduct each such State assessment, in each subject 

area and at each grade level, on a developmental basis until 

the Commissioner for Education Statistics determines, as the 

result of an evaluation required by subsection (f), that such 

assessment produces high quality data that are valid and 

reliable.

J. AGREEMENT-

(i) IN GENERAL- States participating in State assessments 

shall enter into an agreement with the Secretary pursuant to 

subsection (d)(3).

(ii) CONTENT- Such agreement shall contain information 

sufficient to give States full information about the process for 

decision-making (which shall include the consensus process 

used), on objectives to be tested, and the standards for random 

sampling, test administration, test security, data collection, 

validation, and reporting.

K. REVIEW AND RELEASE-

(i) IN GENERAL- Except as provided in clause (ii), a 

participating State shall review and give permission for the 

release of results from any test of its students administered as 

a part of a State assessment prior to the release of such data. 

Refusal by a State to release its data shall not restrict the 

release of data from other States that have approved the 

release of such data.

(ii) SPECIAL RULE- A State participating in the biennial 

academic assessments of student achievement in reading and 

mathematics in grades 4 and 8 shall be deemed to have given 

its permission to release its data if the State has an approved 

plan under section 1111 of the Elementary and Secondary

Education Act of 1965.

(4) PROHIBITED ACTIVITIESL. IN GENERAL- The use of assessment items and data on any

assessment authorized under this section by an agent or agents of 
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the Federal Government to rank, compare, or otherwise evaluate 

individual students or teachers, or to provide rewards or sanctions 

for individual students, teachers, schools or local educational 

agencies is prohibited.

M. SPECIAL RULE- Any assessment authorized under this section 

shall not be used by an agent or agents of the Federal Government 

to establish, require, or influence the standards, assessments, 

curriculum, including lesson plans, textbooks, or classroom 

materials, or instructional practices of States or local educational 

agencies.

N. APPLICABILITY TO STUDENT EDUCATIONAL DECISIONSNothing in this section shall be construed to prescribe the use of 

any assessment authorized under this section for student promotion 

or graduation purposes.

O. APPLICABILITY TO HOME SCHOOLS- Nothing in this section 

shall be construed to affect home schools, whether or not a home 

school is treated as a home school or a private school under State 

law, nor shall any home schooled student be required to participate 

in any assessment referenced or authorized under this section.

(5) REQUIREMENT- In carrying out any assessment authorized under 

this section, the Commissioner for Education Statistics, in a manner 

consistent with subsection (c)(3), shall--

P. use widely accepted professional testing standards, objectively 

measure academic achievement, knowledge, and skills, and ensure 

that any academic assessment authorized under this section be tests 

that do not evaluate or assess personal or family beliefs and 

attitudes or publicly disclose personally identifiable information;

Q. only collect information that is directly related to the appraisal of 

academic achievement, and to the fair and accurate presentation of 

such information; and

R. collect information on race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, 

disability, limited English proficiency, and gender.

(6) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE- In carrying out any assessment 

authorized under this section, the Commissioner for Education Statistics 

may provide technical assistance to States, localities, and other parties.
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c. ACCESS-

(1) PUBLIC ACCESSA. IN GENERAL- Except as provided in paragraph (3), parents and 

members of the public shall have access to all assessment data, 

questions, and complete and current assessment instruments of any

assessment authorized under this section. The local educational 

agency shall make reasonable efforts to inform parents and 

members of the public about the access required under this 

paragraph.

B. TIMELINE- The access described in this paragraph shall be 

provided within 45 days of the date the request was made, in 

writing, and be made available in a secure setting that is convenient 

to both parties.

C. PROHIBITION- To protect the integrity of the assessment, no copy 

of the assessment items or assessment instruments shall be 

duplicated or taken from the secure setting.

(2) COMPLAINTSD. IN GENERAL- Parents and members of the public may submit 

written complaints to the National Assessment Governing Board.

E. FORWARDING OF COMPLAINTS- The National Assessment 

Governing Board shall forward such complaints to the 

Commissioner for Education Statistics, the Secretary of Education, 

and the State and local educational agency from within which the 

complaint originated within 30 days of receipt of such complaint.

F. REVIEW- The National Assessment Governing Board, in 

consultation with the Commissioner for Education Statistics, shall 

review such complaint and determine whether revisions are 

necessary and appropriate. As determined by such review, the 

Assessment Board shall revise, as necessary and appropriate, the 

procedures or assessment items that have generated the complaint 

and respond to the individual submitting the complaint, with a copy 

of such response provided to the Secretary, describing any action 

taken, not later than 30 days after so acting.

G. REPORT- The Secretary shall submit a summary report of all 

complaints received pursuant to subparagraph (A) and responses by 

the National Assessment Governing Board pursuant to 

subparagraph (C) to the Chairman of the House Committee on 
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Education and the Workforce, and the Chairman of the Senate 

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

H. COGNITIVE QUESTIONS-

(i) IN GENERAL- The Commissioner for Education Statistics 

may decline to make available through public means, such as 

posting on the Internet, distribution to the media, distribution 

through public agencies, or in response to a request under 

section 552 of title 5, United States Code, for a period, not to 

exceed 10 years after initial use, cognitive questions that the 

Commissioner for Education Statistics intends to reuse in the 

future.

(ii) EXTENSION- Notwithstanding clause (i), the 

Commissioner for Education Statistics may decline to make 

cognitive questions available as described in clause (i) for a 

period longer than 10 years if the Commissioner for Education 

Statistics determines such additional period is necessary to 

protect the security and integrity of long-term trend data.

(3) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATIONI. IN GENERAL- The Commissioner for Education Statistics shall 

ensure that all personally identifiable information about students, 

their academic achievement, and their families, and that 

information with respect to individual schools, remains 

confidential, in accordance with section 552a of title 5, United 

States Code.

J. PROHIBITION- The Assessment Board, the Commissioner for 

Education Statistics, and any contractor or subcontractor shall not 

maintain any system of records containing a student's name, birth 

information, Social Security number, or parents' name or names, or 

any other personally identifiable information.

(4) PENALTIES- Any unauthorized person who knowingly discloses, 

publishes, or uses assessment questions, or complete and current 

assessment instruments of any assessment authorized under this section 

may be fined as specified in section 3571 of title 18, United States Code or 

charged with a class E felony.
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d. PARTICIPATION-

(1) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION- Participation in any assessment 

authorized under this section shall be voluntary for students, schools, and 

local educational agencies.

(2) STUDENT PARTICIPATION- Parents of children selected to 

participate in any assessment authorized under this section shall be 

informed before the administration of any authorized assessment, that their 

child may be excused from participation for any reason, is not required to 

finish any authorized assessment, and is not required to answer any test 

question.

(3) STATE PARTICIPATIONA. VOLUNTARY- Participation in assessments authorized under this 

section, other than reading and mathematics in grades 4 and 8, shall 

be voluntary.

B. AGREEMENT- For reading and mathematics assessments in 

grades 4 and 8, the Secretary shall enter into an agreement with any

State carrying out an assessment for the State under this section. 

Each such agreement shall contain provisions designed to ensure 

that the State will participate in the assessment.

(4) REVIEW- Representatives of State educational agencies and local 

educational agencies or the chief State school officer shall have the right to 

review any assessment item or procedure of any authorized assessment 

upon request in a manner consistent with subsection (c), except the review 

described in subparagraph (2)(C) of subsection (c) shall take place in 

consultation with the representatives described in this paragraph.

e. STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT LEVELS-

(1) ACHIEVEMENT LEVELS- The National Assessment Governing 

Board shall develop appropriate student achievement levels for each grade 

or age in each subject area to be tested under assessments authorized under 

this section, except the trend assessment described in subsection (b)(2)(F).
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(2) DETERMINATION OF LEVELSA. IN GENERAL- Such levels shall--

(i) be determined by--

(I) identifying the knowledge that can be measured and 

verified objectively using widely accepted professional 

assessment standards; and

(II) developing achievement levels that are consistent 

with relevant widely accepted professional assessment 

standards and based on the appropriate level of subject 

matter knowledge for grade levels to be assessed, or the 

age of the students, as the case may be.

B. NATIONAL CONSENSUS APPROACH- After the 

determinations described in subparagraph (A), devising a national 

consensus approach.

C. TRIAL BASIS- The achievement levels shall be used on a trial 

basis until the Commissioner for Education Statistics determines, 

as a result of an evaluation under subsection (f), that such levels are 

reasonable, valid, and informative to the public.

D. STATUS- The Commissioner for Education Statistics and the 

Assessment Board shall ensure that reports using such levels on a 

trial basis do so in a manner that makes clear the status of such 

levels.

E. UPDATES- Such levels shall be updated as appropriate by the 

National Assessment Governing Board in consultation with the 

Commissioner for Education Statistics.

(3) REPORTING- After determining that such levels are reasonable, valid, 

and informative to the public, as the result of an evaluation under 

subsection (f), the Commissioner for Education Statistics shall use such 

levels or other methods or indicators for reporting results of the National 

Assessment and State assessments.

(4) REVIEW- The National Assessment Governing Board shall provide 

for a review of any trial student achievement levels under development by 

representatives of State educational agencies or the chief State school 

officer in a manner consistent with subsection (c), except the review 

described in paragraph (2)(C) of such subsection shall take place in 

consultation with the representatives described in this paragraph.
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f.REVIEW OF NATIONAL AND STATE ASSESSMENTS-

(1) REVIEWA. IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall provide for continuing review 

of any assessment authorized under this section, and student 

achievement levels, by one or more professional assessment 

evaluation organizations.

B. ISSUES ADDRESSED- Such continuing review shall address--

(i) whether any authorized assessment is properly 

administered, produces high quality data that are valid and 

reliable, is consistent with relevant widely accepted 

professional assessment standards, and produces data on 

student achievement that are not otherwise available to the 

State (other than data comparing participating States to each 

other and the Nation);

(ii) whether student achievement levels are reasonable, valid, 

reliable, and informative to the public;-

(iii) whether any authorized assessment is being administered 

as a random sample and is reporting the trends in academic 

achievement in a valid and reliable manner in the subject areas 

being assessed;

(iv) whether any of the test questions are biased, as described 

in section 302(e)(4); and

(v) whether the appropriate authorized assessments are 

measuring, consistent with this section, reading ability and 

mathematical knowledge.

(2) REPORT- The Secretary shall report to the Committee on Education 

and the Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, the President, and 

the Nation on the findings and recommendations of such reviews. 

(3) USE OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS- The 

Commissioner for Education Statistics and the National Assessment 

Governing Board shall consider the findings and recommendations of such 

reviews in designing the competition to select the organization, or 

organizations, through which the Commissioner for Education Statistics 

carries out the National Assessment.
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g. COVERAGE AGREEMENTS-

(1) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SCHOOLS- The Secretary and the 

Secretary of Defense may enter into an agreement, including such terms as 

are mutually satisfactory, to include in the National Assessment 

elementary schools and secondary schools operated by the Department of 

Defense.

(2) BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS SCHOOLS- The Secretary and the 

Secretary of the Interior may enter into an agreement, including such terms 

as are mutually satisfactory, to include in the National Assessment schools 

for Indian children operated or supported by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.