Kelsey Anspach
News Editor
Today, a selected group of seniors will take the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) Exam. According to Assistant Principal Ari Rothman, the exam is often referred to as “the nation’s report card.”
The exam, run by the U.S. Department of Education, is taken by students aged 9, 13, and 17 in public schools across the country. Each school that is chosen to take the test is given one of multiple subject tests which aim to report on subject-matter achievement, instructional experience, and school environment. This year, seniors here will take a writing assessment.
Mr. Rothman described how schools and students are selected to take the exam. “Last year, out of 169 high schools in Connecticut, there were 100 that were chosen, and within that there was a random sampling of students chosen to take the test to represent the class,” he said.
Although students here have taken the exam before, Mr. Rothman said that this is the second consecutive year that NCHS has participated in the exam in a while. “Last year was the first time in a long time that we participated,” he said. “Because we had a fairly good participation last year, we were selected again this year. The state wants as high of a participation rate as possible, so I guess it’s kind of an honor to be selected again.”
Once students’ results are calculated, they are only reported on a national level. “The results are not in any way broken down by student, school, or state, because it really is meant to be a national assessment,” Mr. Rothman said.
Although choosing to take the exam is voluntary, school participation is key to helping the government assess how public schools are doing. “This is not a piece of data that helps us do our job better, but it’s a responsibility that schools have to the nation,” Mr. Rothman said.
