Three public hearings are scheduled for this week and next month to focus on developing the content of a national civics assessment for 1998.
The National Assessment Governing Board planned a hearing Oct. 25 in Washington as part of a project to determine what students in grades 4, 8, and 12 should know and be able to do on the National Assessment of Educational Progress in civics. Hearings also are scheduled in Chicago and Seattle next month.
Each hearing will focus on the first draft of a framework for a NAEP test that will be given to a national sample of students. NAEP is a congressionally mandated program that tests U.S. students in key academic subjects.
The governing board, which sets NAEP policy, is pursuing the project in conjunction with the Council of Chief State School Officers. The project will include teachers, curriculum specialists, school administrators, parents, and members of the public.
The Washington hearing was set for 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Hall of States Room of the National Guard Memorial Building at 1 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. The Chicago meeting is Nov. 10, and the Seattle meeting is Nov. 16. Information is available from either Don Vetter, (202) 336-7040, or Tiffanie Lee, (202) 336-7076, at the ccsso; fax: (202) 789-0596.
--Millicent Lawton