The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a resource that teachers, principals, and other educators can use to improve students’ learning experiences and educational outcomes. From its assessment frameworks, to its innovative assessment and survey questions, and its data-rich results, NAEP provides helpful tools and information for educators.
During the upcoming 2026 school year, the NAEP assessment program will include assessments in mathematics and reading for grades 4 and 8, and national-level assessments of civics and U.S. history at grade 8. NCES will administer these assessments between January 26 and March 20, 2026. NAEP 2026 will also include pilot assessments in mathematics and reading in grades 4, 8, and 12 in public schools. These pilot assessments will provide important information as NAEP continues its transition to the updated mathematics and reading frameworks.
Additional resources regarding the 2026 assessments will be posted as they become available.
The NAEP frameworks define content areas and levels of complexity for questions on NAEP. Using the dashboard below, explore sample questions from recent assessments by subject, content area, and range of difficulty. Sample Questions are sourced from the NAEP Questions Tool, a database which houses over 3,000 assessment questions.
As part of an assessment, students, teachers, and school administrators also answer a questionnaire about their opportunities to learn in and outside of the classroom, educational experiences in and out of school, and demographic characteristics. Many factors may influence student achievement, including
Although comparisons are made in students’ performance on NAEP based on demographic characteristics and educational experiences, the comparisons cannot be used to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between the characteristic or experience and achievement. However, educators can view results from the student, teachers, and school questionnaires, as well as average scores on the assessment.
See information and resources for schools selected for NAEP participation.
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