Civics Framework for the 2018 National Assessment of Educational Progress

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a survey mandated by the U.S. Congress to collect and report information about student achievement in various academic subjects, such as mathematics, science, reading, writing, history, geography, and civics. The National Assessment Governing Board sets policy and the overall dimensions for the assessment program. The Governing Board has scheduled a national assessment in civics for 2018 to gauge knowledge and skills about civics and government of the nation’s eighth-grade students. Due to limited funding, the Governing Board decided to conduct the assessment at only grade 8 for 2018. This civics assessment will use the same framework as was used in 1998 to enable NAEP to report on trends in student achievement from 1998 to 2018.

To gauge the civic knowledge and skills of the nation’s eighth- grade students, NAEP has scheduled an assessment for 2018. A biennial, congressionally mandated survey, NAEP sometimes is called The Nation’s Report Card because for more than 25 years it has collected and reported survey-based information about student achievement in mathematics, science, reading, writing, history, geography, and other subjects, including civics. NAEP is not a national test; however, it is a barometer or broad indicator of how much and how well students are learning. It is not used to gather information on individual students or as a basis for sanctions or rewards in the education system. In accordance with law, NAEP does not report scores for individual students or schools.

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