New Practices May Jeopardize NAEP Statistics

By David J. Hoff

Washington

The federal testing program that states rely on to validate the success of their school improvement policies is in danger of losing the ability to compare current scores with those dating back to the early 1990s.

Trends in state results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress could be "significantly threatened" by the rising number of students who require accommodations for their disabilities, federal officials told the independent board that governs the assessment last month.

Because the NAEP program, known as "the nation's report card," historically has not reported the scores of students who receive such special assistance, states with high proportions of children needing the accommodations may be reaping artificial increases.The National Center for Education Statistics, a branch of the federal Department of Education, is evaluating the impact of these new demographics. That work will delay the release of states' scores on the mathematics and science tests taken in 2000 until next summer. They were to...