Assessment Sessions

Every year, NAEP is administered uniformly in individual sessions. For each grade level, NAEP staff develop scripts that walk the assessment administrator and the participating school personnel through every step of the assessment. These scripts begin with an introduction to NAEP and are read verbatim.

In the 2000 and 2001 assessments, at the grade 4 level, all of the background questions were included in the script and read aloud to the students. In grades 8 and 12, students usually read the background questions to themselves.

For the national main assessments, the primary responsibility for conducting assessment sessions was given to the exercise administrators (EAs). EAs were provided with a script for each session type. They distributed the assessment booklets and read the scripts verbatim. After each session, EAs completed a session debriefing form and administration schedule, totaled the number of participating students, and coded all booklet covers.

EAs distributed the assessment booklets, matching each student with his or her preassigned booklet. After the booklets were distributed, students were asked to write in the NAEP school ID and (except in grade 12) teacher name and ID for the subject area of the assessment. They were given some general directions for completing the assessment. After students completed the background questions, they were told to begin the first cognitive section of the assessment. (In the 2000 assessment, this process was modified for science, where the background questions came after the two national main cognitive blocks at the end of the assessment booklet. This was just before half the students were dismissed and the remaining half conducted the hands-on science experiments.)

During the sessions, EAs walked around the room monitoring students to make sure they were working in the correct section of their booklets and to discourage them from looking at other students' booklets. At the end of each assessment session, booklets were collected and students dismissed according to the school's policy. EAs worked with their data collection supervisors on the following tasks:

• completing a session debriefing form for each session, noting any unusual events;

• completing the administration schedule;

• totaling the number of participating students; and

• coding the covers of all booklets, including those assigned to absent students.

Supervisors were required to observe the first session each EA conducted to ensure that proper procedure was followed. Supervisors were also required to be present in all schools with more than one small session to be conducted. They completed a School Debriefing Form for each school, noting any special circumstances regarding the school, the conduct of the sessions, and the performance of the EAs.

Last updated 08 May 2008 (MH)

Printer-friendly Version