Opinion
Assessment Letter to the Editor

2022 Assessment ‘Most Important’ Ever 

July 12, 2022 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

The nation will soon get the most comprehensive picture to date of COVID’s impact on student achievement, though you may not know it by reading the recent essay “Ignore NAEP. Better Yet, Abolish It” (June 6, 2022).

Far from something to be ignored, the National Assessment of Educational Progress results to be released this fall are the most important in NAEP’s 50-year history. We will get the first national look at how 4th and 8th grade students are doing in math and reading today compared with students just before COVID began disrupting schools in spring 2020. It’s critical that we pay attention to the results, which will give educators, policymakers, and the public an important tool to make informed decisions that advance educational opportunity.

NAEP has long been known as “the nation’s report card” and for good reason. It is the only nationally representative and continuous assessment of what students know and can do. NAEP does not produce student- or school-level data, so results aren’t punitive. Instead, NAEP does something that no other assessment does; it provides comparable achievement data across the nation. It is an objective yardstick and a powerful flashlight.

In addition to achievement results, this year’s assessment includes survey questions about students’ backgrounds and learning experiences during the pandemic. For example, we’ll learn more about students’ access to technology and support they received at home during distance learning—critical context for understanding students’ progress and meeting their needs.

Grasping the pandemic’s full effects on the nation’s schools and students has not been easy. It might be tempting to close our eyes and hope for the best, but doing so now would be irresponsible. We need to know where schools are and how the pandemic affected student learning. Absent that information, educators are operating in the dark.

Lesley Muldoon
Executive Director
National Assessment Governing Board
Washington, D.C.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the July 13, 2022 edition of Education Week as 2022 Assessment ‘Most Important’ Ever

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Whitepaper
Understanding 'Through-Year' Assessment: What Everyone Should Know
This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reconsider our assessment systems. Discover a fresh approach with Through-Year Assessment.
Content provided by New Meridian
Assessment Opinion To Replace Skill Mastery for Seat Time, There Are 3 Requirements
Time for learning and student support take on a whole new meaning in the mastery-based learning model.
4 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Assessment More States Could Drop Their High School Exit Exams
There's movement afoot in nearly half the states that still mandate high school exit exams to end the requirement.
4 min read
A student looks at questions during a college test preparation class at Holton Arms School in Bethesda, Md., on Jan. 17, 2016. The SAT exam will move from paper and pencil to a digital format, administrators announced Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022, saying the shift will boost its relevancy as more colleges make standardized tests optional for admission.
A student looks at questions during a college test preparation class at Holton Arms School in Bethesda, Md., on Jan. 17, 2016. More states are looking to abandon high school exit exams as support for standardized testing cools.
Alex Brandon/AP
Assessment Cardona Says Standardized Tests Haven't Always Met the Mark, Offers New Flexibility
The U.S. Department of Education is seeking to reinvigorate a little-used pilot program to create new types of assessments.
7 min read
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in his office at the Department of Education on Sept. 20, 2023 in Washington.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in his office at the Department of Education on Sept. 20, 2023 in Washington.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP