May 2012 ÐÜèÊÓÆµhas submitted comments to the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) on a proposal to review and revise the background questions on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP). The proposal appeared in an NAGB report issued in February.
“” provided recommendations in four key areas: asking important questions, improving the accuracy of measures, strengthening sampling efficiency, and reinstituting meaningful analysis and reporting. The report also advanced recommendations for implementation, such as issuing special reports based on the background data and improving the usability of the .
In its comments, ÐÜèÊÓÆµsupported several of NAGB’s recommendations, including appointing a NAGB committee responsible for overseeing background questions, developing questions that are drawn from research, and continuing efforts to institute a more accurate measure of socioeconomic status (SES). ÐÜèÊÓÆµurges caution against using the NAEP background questions as a tool to gauge the impact of various policy initiatives and against eliminating questions on race and ethnicity under the assumption that this information can be collected from student records. ÐÜèÊÓÆµencourages collaboration going forward with the National Center for Education Statistics.