%0 Book %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %E Gamoran, Adam %E Dibner, Kenne %T The Future of Education Research at IES: Advancing an Equity-Oriented Science %@ 978-0-309-27539-2 %D 2022 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26428/the-future-of-education-research-at-ies-advancing-an-equity %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26428/the-future-of-education-research-at-ies-advancing-an-equity %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Education %P 284 %X In 2002 Congress passed the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA), authorizing the creation of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) as the research, evaluation, statistics, and assessment arm of the Department of Education, and crystallizing the federal government's commitment to providing national leadership in expanding fundamental knowledge and understanding of education from early childhood through postsecondary study. IES shares information on the condition and progress of education in the United States, including early childhood education and special education; educational practices that support learning and improve academic achievement and access to educational opportunities for all students; and the effectiveness of federal and other education programs. In response to a request from the Institute of Education Sciences, this report provides guidance on the future of education research at the National Center for Education Research and the National Center for Special Education Research, two centers directed by IES. This report identifies critical problems and issues, new methods and approaches, and new and different kinds of research training investments. %0 Book %A Institute of Medicine %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %E Rosenbaum, Sara %E Simon, Patti %T Speech and Language Disorders in Children: Implications for the Social Security Administration's Supplemental Security Income Program %@ 978-0-309-38875-7 %D 2016 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/21872/speech-and-language-disorders-in-children-implications-for-the-social %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/21872/speech-and-language-disorders-in-children-implications-for-the-social %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Health and Medicine %K Education %P 304 %X Speech and language are central to the human experience; they are the vital means by which people convey and receive knowledge, thoughts, feelings, and other internal experiences. Acquisition of communication skills begins early in childhood and is foundational to the ability to gain access to culturally transmitted knowledge, organize and share thoughts and feelings, and participate in social interactions and relationships. Thus, speech disorders and language disorders—disruptions in communication development—can have wide-ranging and adverse impacts on the ability to communicate and also to acquire new knowledge and fully participate in society. Severe disruptions in speech or language acquisition have both direct and indirect consequences for child and adolescent development, not only in communication, but also in associated abilities such as reading and academic achievement that depend on speech and language skills. The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program for children provides financial assistance to children from low-income, resource-limited families who are determined to have conditions that meet the disability standard required under law. Between 2000 and 2010, there was an unprecedented rise in the number of applications and the number of children found to meet the disability criteria. The factors that contribute to these changes are a primary focus of this report. Speech and Language Disorders in Children provides an overview of the current status of the diagnosis and treatment of speech and language disorders and levels of impairment in the U.S. population under age 18. This study identifies past and current trends in the prevalence and persistence of speech disorders and language disorders for the general U.S. population under age 18 and compares those trends to trends in the SSI childhood disability population. %0 Book %A National Research Council %E Raju, Nambury S. %E Pellegrino, James W. %E Bertenthal, Meryl W. %E Mitchell, Karen J. %E Jones, Lee R. %T Grading the Nation's Report Card: Research from the Evaluation of NAEP %@ 978-0-309-06844-4 %D 2000 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9751/grading-the-nations-report-card-research-from-the-evaluation-of %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9751/grading-the-nations-report-card-research-from-the-evaluation-of %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Education %P 276 %X The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), known as the nation's report card, has chronicled students' academic achievement in America for over a quarter of a century. It has been a valued source of information about students' performance, providing the best available trend data on the academic achievement of elementary, middle, and secondary school students in key subject areas. NAEP's prominence and the important need for stable and accurate measures of academic achievement call for evaluation of the program and an analysis of the extent to which its results are reasonable, valid, and informative to the public. This volume of papers considers the use and application of NAEP. It provides technical background to the recently published book, Grading the Nation's Report Card: Evaluating NAEP and Transforming the Assessment of Educational Progress (NRC, 1999), with papers on four key topics: NAEP's assessment development, content validity, design and use, and more broadly, the design of education indicator systems. %0 Book %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %E Teutsch, Steven M. %E McCoy, Margaret A. %E Woodbury, R. Brian %E Welp, Annalyn %T Making Eye Health a Population Health Imperative: Vision for Tomorrow %@ 978-0-309-43998-5 %D 2016 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/23471/making-eye-health-a-population-health-imperative-vision-for-tomorrow %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/23471/making-eye-health-a-population-health-imperative-vision-for-tomorrow %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Health and Medicine %P 586 %X The ability to see deeply affects how human beings perceive and interpret the world around them. For most people, eyesight is part of everyday communication, social activities, educational and professional pursuits, the care of others, and the maintenance of personal health, independence, and mobility. Functioning eyes and vision system can reduce an adult's risk of chronic health conditions, death, falls and injuries, social isolation, depression, and other psychological problems. In children, properly maintained eye and vision health contributes to a child's social development, academic achievement, and better health across the lifespan. The public generally recognizes its reliance on sight and fears its loss, but emphasis on eye and vision health, in general, has not been integrated into daily life to the same extent as other health promotion activities, such as teeth brushing; hand washing; physical and mental exercise; and various injury prevention behaviors. A larger population health approach is needed to engage a wide range of stakeholders in coordinated efforts that can sustain the scope of behavior change. The shaping of socioeconomic environments can eventually lead to new social norms that promote eye and vision health. Making Eye Health a Population Health Imperative: Vision for Tomorrow proposes a new population-centered framework to guide action and coordination among various, and sometimes competing, stakeholders in pursuit of improved eye and vision health and health equity in the United States. Building on the momentum of previous public health efforts, this report also introduces a model for action that highlights different levels of prevention activities across a range of stakeholders and provides specific examples of how population health strategies can be translated into cohesive areas for action at federal, state, and local levels. %0 Book %A National Research Council %A Institute of Medicine %E McCord, Joan %E Widom, Cathy Spatz %E Bamba, Melissa I. %E Crowell, Nancy A. %T Education and Delinquency: Summary of a Workshop %@ 978-0-309-07193-2 %D 2000 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9972/education-and-delinquency-summary-of-a-workshop %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9972/education-and-delinquency-summary-of-a-workshop %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Behavioral and Social Sciences %P 58 %X The Panel on Juvenile Crime: Prevention, Treatment, and Control convened a workshop on October 2, 1998, to explore issues related to educational performance, school climate, school practices, learning, student motivation and commitment to school, and their relationship to delinquency. The workshop was designed to bring together researchers and practitioners with a broad range of perspectives on the relationship between such specific issues as school safety and academic achievement and the development of delinquent behavior. Education and Delinquency reviews recent research findings, identifies gaps in knowledge and promising areas of future research, and discusses the need for program evaluation and the integration of empirical research findings into program design. %0 Book %A National Research Council %E Porter, Andrew C. %E Gamoran, Adam %T Methodological Advances in Cross-National Surveys of Educational Achievement %@ 978-0-309-08333-1 %D 2002 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10322/methodological-advances-in-cross-national-surveys-of-educational-achievement %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10322/methodological-advances-in-cross-national-surveys-of-educational-achievement %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Education %P 384 %X In November 2000, the Board on International Comparative Studies in Education (BICSE) held a symposium to draw on the wealth of experience gathered over a four--decade period, to evaluate improvement in the quality of the methodologies used in international studies, and to identify the most pressing methodological issues that remain to be solved. Since 1960, the United States has participated in 15 large--scale cross--national education surveys. The most assessed subjects have been science and mathematics through reading comprehension, geography, nonverbal reasoning, literature, French, English as a foreign language, civic education, history, computers in education, primary education, and second--language acquisition. The papers prepared for this symposium and discussions of those papers make up the volume, representing the most up--to--date and comprehensive assessment of methodological strengths and weaknesses of international comparative studies of student achievement. These papers answer the following questions: (1) What is the methodological quality of the most recent international surveys of student achievement? How authoritative are the results? (2) Has the methodological quality of international achievement studies improved over the past 40 years? and (3) What are promising opportunities for future improvement? %0 Book %A National Research Council %A Institute of Medicine %E Beatty, Alexandra %T Strengthening Benefit-Cost Analysis for Early Childhood Interventions: Workshop Summary %@ 978-0-309-14563-3 %D 2009 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12777/strengthening-benefit-cost-analysis-for-early-childhood-interventions-workshop-summary %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12777/strengthening-benefit-cost-analysis-for-early-childhood-interventions-workshop-summary %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Education %K Behavioral and Social Sciences %P 88 %X The deficiencies that many children experience from birth to school age--in health care, nutrition, emotional support, and intellectual stimulation, for example--play a major role in academic achievement gaps that persist for years, as well as in behavior and other problems. There are many intervention programs designed to strengthen families, provide disadvantaged children with the critical elements of healthy development, and prevent adverse experiences that can have lasting negative effects. In a climate of economic uncertainty and tight budgets, hard evidence not only that such interventions provide lasting benefits for children, their families, and society, but also that the benefits translate into savings that outweigh the costs is an extremely important asset in policy discussions. Convincing analysis of benefits and costs would provide a guide to the best ways to spend scarce resources for early childhood programs. Benefit-Cost Analysis for Early Childhood Interventions summarizes a workshop that was held to explore ways to strengthen benefit-cost analysis so it can be used to support effective policy decisions. This book describes the information and analysis that were presented at the workshop and the discussions that ensued. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T An Evaluation of the Public Schools of the District of Columbia: Reform in a Changing Landscape %@ 978-0-309-37380-7 %D 2015 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/21743/an-evaluation-of-the-public-schools-of-the-district-of-columbia %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/21743/an-evaluation-of-the-public-schools-of-the-district-of-columbia %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Education %P 342 %X An Evaluation of the Public Schools of the District of Columbia is a comprehensive five-year summative evaluation report for Phase Two of an initiative to evaluate the District of Columbia's public schools. Consistent with the recommendations in the 2011 report A Plan for Evaluating the District of Columbia's Public Schools, this new report describes changes in the public schools during the period from 2009 to 2013. An Evaluation of the Public Schools of the District of Columbia examines business practices, human resources operations and human capital strategies, academic plans, and student achievement. This report identifies what is working well seven years after legislation was enacted to give control of public schools to the mayor of the District of Columbia and which areas need additional attention. %0 Book %A National Research Council %E Welch-Ross, Melissa %T Language Diversity, School Learning, and Closing Achievement Gaps: A Workshop Summary %@ 978-0-309-15386-7 %D 2010 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12907/language-diversity-school-learning-and-closing-achievement-gaps-a-workshop %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12907/language-diversity-school-learning-and-closing-achievement-gaps-a-workshop %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Education %P 116 %X The Workshop on the Role of Language in School Learning: Implications for Closing the Achievement Gap was held to explore three questions: What is known about the conditions that affect language development? What are the effects of early language development on school achievement? What instructional approaches help students meet school demands for language and reading comprehension? Of particular interest was the degree to which group differences in school achievement might be attributed to language differences, and whether language-related instruction might help to close gaps in achievement by helping students cope with language-intensive subject matter especially after the 3rd grade. The workshop provided a forum for researchers and practitioners to review and discuss relevant research findings from varied perspectives. The disciplines and professions represented included: language development, child development, cognitive psychology, linguistics, reading, educationally disadvantaged student populations, literacy in content areas (math, science, social studies), and teacher education. The aim of the meeting was not to reach consensus or provide recommendations, but rather to offer expert insight into the issues that surround the study of language, academic learning, and achievement gaps, and to gather varied viewpoints on what available research findings might imply for future research and practice. This book summarizes and synthesizes two days of workshop presentations and discussion. %0 Book %T Improving Instruction and Assessment in Early Childhood Education: Summary of a Workshop Series %D 1991 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/20547/improving-instruction-and-assessment-in-early-childhood-education-summary-of %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/20547/improving-instruction-and-assessment-in-early-childhood-education-summary-of %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K %K Education %P 67 %0 Book %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %E Callahan, Emily A. %T Leveraging Health Communication, Data, and Innovative Approaches for Sustainable Systems-Wide Changes to Reduce the Prevalence of Obesity: Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief %D 2021 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26341/leveraging-health-communication-data-and-innovative-approaches-for-sustainable-systems-wide-changes-to-reduce-the-prevalence-of-obesity %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26341/leveraging-health-communication-data-and-innovative-approaches-for-sustainable-systems-wide-changes-to-reduce-the-prevalence-of-obesity %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Food and Nutrition %P 7 %X The Roundtable on Obesity Solutions of the Health and Medicine Division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine held a virtual public workshop, Leveraging Health Communication, Data, and Innovative Approaches for Sustainable Systems-Wide Changes to Reduce the Prevalence of Obesity, on June 22, 2021. The workshop, the second in a series of three workshops to examine foundational drivers of obesity and sustainable systems-wide changes to reduce the prevalence of obesity, explored strategies for leveraging health communication and data-informed, innovative approaches. Participants in the workshop discussed how health communication might enhance the understanding and the use of current modeling and data-driven efforts to advance obesity solutions; they also explored innovative data and policy approaches for obesity solutions. This Proceedings of a Workshop-in Brief highlights the presentations and discussions that occurred at the workshop. %0 Book %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %E Dean, Ivory %T Measuring the Opportunity Gap for Children from Birth to Age Eight and Understanding Barriers to Access: Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief %D 2021 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26416/measuring-the-opportunity-gap-for-children-from-birth-to-age-eight-and-understanding-barriers-to-access %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26416/measuring-the-opportunity-gap-for-children-from-birth-to-age-eight-and-understanding-barriers-to-access %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Behavioral and Social Sciences %P 10 %X The Committee on Exploring the Opportunity Gap for Young Children from Birth to Age Eight is conducting a consensus study on the causes and consequences of the opportunity gap, which generally refers to the unequal or inequitable distribution of resources and opportunities on the basis of factors such as race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, English proficiency, community wealth, geography, or familial situations. These gaps can contribute to or perpetuate inequities in well-being across groups of young children in a number of outcome domains. As part of its work, the committee held a virtual public information-gathering workshop on May 24, 2021. The purpose of the workshop was to inform the committee in its work, which will also draw on other public information-gathering sessions, peer-reviewed research, and commissioned papers from subject-matter experts, as well as the expertise of its members. This publication summarizes the presentation and discussion of the workshop. %0 Book %A National Research Council %A Institute of Medicine %E Beatty, Alexandra %T Student Mobility: Exploring the Impacts of Frequent Moves on Achievement: Summary of a Workshop %@ 978-0-309-15013-2 %D 2010 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12853/student-mobility-exploring-the-impacts-of-frequent-moves-on-achievement %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12853/student-mobility-exploring-the-impacts-of-frequent-moves-on-achievement %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Behavioral and Social Sciences %K Health and Medicine %P 92 %X Many low-income families struggle with stable housing and frequently have to move due to foreclosures, rent increases, or other financial setbacks. Children in these families can experience lasting negative effects, especially those who are young and still developing basic learning and social skills. A joint NRC-IOM committee held a workshop in June 2009 to examine these issues, highlight patterns in current research, and discuss how to develop a support system for at-risk children. %0 Book %A National Research Council %E Ready, Timothy %E Edley, Christopher, Jr. %E Snow, Catherine E. %T Achieving High Educational Standards for All: Conference Summary %@ 978-0-309-08303-4 %D 2002 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10256/achieving-high-educational-standards-for-all-conference-summary %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10256/achieving-high-educational-standards-for-all-conference-summary %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Education %K Behavioral and Social Sciences %P 300 %X This volume summarizes a range of scientific perspectives on the important goal of achieving high educational standards for all students. Based on a conference held at the request of the U.S. Department of Education, it addresses three questions: What progress has been made in advancing the education of minority and disadvantaged students since the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision nearly 50 years ago? What does research say about the reasons of successes and failures? What are some of the strategies and practices that hold the promise of producing continued improvements? The volume draws on the conclusions of a number of important recent NRC reports, including How People Learn, Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, Eager to Learn, and From Neurons to Neighborhoods, among others. It includes an overview of the conference presentations and discussions, the perspectives of the two co-moderators, and a set of background papers on more detailed issues. %0 Book %A National Research Council %A Institute of Medicine %T Engaging Schools: Fostering High School Students' Motivation to Learn %@ 978-0-309-08435-2 %D 2004 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10421/engaging-schools-fostering-high-school-students-motivation-to-learn %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10421/engaging-schools-fostering-high-school-students-motivation-to-learn %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Education %P 302 %X When it comes to motivating people to learn, disadvantaged urban adolescents are usually perceived as a hard sell. Yet, in a recent MetLife survey, 89 percent of the low-income students claimed “I really want to learn” applied to them. What is it about the school environment—pedagogy, curriculum, climate, organization—that encourages or discourages engagement in school activities? How do peers, family, and community affect adolescents’ attitudes towards learning? Engaging Schools reviews current research on what shapes adolescents’ school engagement and motivation to learn—including new findings on students’ sense of belonging—and looks at ways these can be used to reform urban high schools. This book discusses what changes hold the greatest promise for increasing students’ motivation to learn in these schools. It looks at various approaches to reform through different methods of instruction and assessment, adjustments in school size, vocational teaching, and other key areas. Examples of innovative schools, classrooms, and out-of-school programs that have proved successful in getting high school kids excited about learning are also included. %0 Book %A Institute of Medicine %E Kohl, Harold W., III %E Cook, Heather D. %T Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School %@ 978-0-309-28313-7 %D 2013 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/18314/educating-the-student-body-taking-physical-activity-and-physical-education %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/18314/educating-the-student-body-taking-physical-activity-and-physical-education %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Health and Medicine %K Education %P 502 %X Physical inactivity is a key determinant of health across the lifespan. A lack of activity increases the risk of heart disease, colon and breast cancer, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, osteoporosis, anxiety and depression and others diseases. Emerging literature has suggested that in terms of mortality, the global population health burden of physical inactivity approaches that of cigarette smoking. The prevalence and substantial disease risk associated with physical inactivity has been described as a pandemic. The prevalence, health impact, and evidence of changeability all have resulted in calls for action to increase physical activity across the lifespan. In response to the need to find ways to make physical activity a health priority for youth, the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Physical Activity and Physical Education in the School Environment was formed. Its purpose was to review the current status of physical activity and physical education in the school environment, including before, during, and after school, and examine the influences of physical activity and physical education on the short and long term physical, cognitive and brain, and psychosocial health and development of children and adolescents. Educating the Student Body makes recommendations about approaches for strengthening and improving programs and policies for physical activity and physical education in the school environment. This report lays out a set of guiding principles to guide its work on these tasks. These included: recognizing the benefits of instilling life-long physical activity habits in children; the value of using systems thinking in improving physical activity and physical education in the school environment; the recognition of current disparities in opportunities and the need to achieve equity in physical activity and physical education; the importance of considering all types of school environments; the need to take into consideration the diversity of students as recommendations are developed. This report will be of interest to local and national policymakers, school officials, teachers, and the education community, researchers, professional organizations, and parents interested in physical activity, physical education, and health for school-aged children and adolescents. %0 Book %T A Framework and Principles for International Comparative Studies in Education %D 1990 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9220/a-framework-and-principles-for-international-comparative-studies-in-education %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9220/a-framework-and-principles-for-international-comparative-studies-in-education %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Education %P 48 %0 Book %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %E Edley, Christopher, Jr. %E Koenig, Judith %E Nielsen, Natalie %E Citro, Constance %T Monitoring Educational Equity %@ 978-0-309-49016-0 %D 2019 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25389/monitoring-educational-equity %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25389/monitoring-educational-equity %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Education %K Surveys and Statistics %P 268 %X Disparities in educational attainment among population groups have characterized the United States throughout its history. Education is sometimes characterized as the "great equalizer," but to date, the country has not found ways to successfully address the adverse effects of socioeconomic circumstances, prejudice, and discrimination that suppress performance for some groups. To ensure that the pursuit of equity encompasses both the goals to which the nation aspires for its children and the mechanisms to attain those goals, a revised set of equity indicators is needed. Measures of educational equity often fail to account for the impact of the circumstances in which students live on their academic engagement, academic progress, and educational attainment. Some of the contextual factors that bear on learning include food and housing insecurity, exposure to violence, unsafe neighborhoods, adverse childhood experiences, and exposure to environmental toxins. Consequently, it is difficult to identify when intervention is necessary and how it should function. A revised set of equity indicators should highlight disparities, provide a way to explore potential causes, and point toward possible improvements. Monitoring Educational Equity proposes a system of indicators of educational equity and presents recommendations for implementation. This report also serves as a framework to help policy makers better understand and combat inequity in the United States' education system. Disparities in educational opportunities reinforce, and often amplify, disparities in outcomes throughout people's lives. Thus, it is critical to ensure that all students receive comprehensive supports that level the playing field in order to improve the well-being of underrepresented individuals and the nation. %0 Book %T Development During Middle Childhood: The Years From Six to Twelve %@ 978-0-309-07829-0 %D 1984 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/56/development-during-middle-childhood-the-years-from-six-to-twelve %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/56/development-during-middle-childhood-the-years-from-six-to-twelve %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Behavioral and Social Sciences %K Education %P 448 %X For the first time, a report focuses specifically on middle childhood—a discrete, pivotal period of development. In this review of research, experts examine the physical health and cognitive development of 6- to 12-year-old children as well as their surroundings: school and home environment, ecocultural setting, and family and peer relationships. %0 Book %A National Research Council %E Pellegrino, James W. %E Jones, Lee R. %E Mitchell, Karen J. %T Grading the Nation's Report Card: Evaluating NAEP and Transforming the Assessment of Educational Progress %@ 978-0-309-06285-5 %D 1999 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/6296/grading-the-nations-report-card-evaluating-naep-and-transforming-the %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/6296/grading-the-nations-report-card-evaluating-naep-and-transforming-the %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Education %P 296 %X Since the late 1960s, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)—the nation's report card—has been the only continuing measure of student achievement in key subject areas. Increasingly, educators and policymakers have expected NAEP to serve as a lever for education reform and many other purposes beyond its original role. Grading the Nation's Report Card examines ways NAEP can be strengthened to provide more informative portrayals of student achievement and the school and system factors that influence it. The committee offers specific recommendations and strategies for improving NAEP's effectiveness and utility, including: Linking achievement data to other education indicators. Streamlining data collection and other aspects of its design. Including students with disabilities and English-language learners. Revamping the process by which achievement levels are set. The book explores how to improve NAEP framework documents—which identify knowledge and skills to be assessed—with a clearer eye toward the inferences that will be drawn from the results. What should the nation expect from NAEP? What should NAEP do to meet these expectations? This book provides a blueprint for a new paradigm, important to education policymakers, professors, and students, as well as school administrators and teachers, and education advocates.