By Laura Grande

Yorktown High School Testing Coordinator

Soon you may notice some of your classmates receiving hall passes to excuse them from class on February 21, 2013. You will probably wonder: What are they for, and where are these students going?

These students have been chosen to participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as NAEP. You may be thinking that NAEP is just another test, but it’s not. NAEP is different from our state assessments, the SAT, and ACT because it represents all high school students across the country, not just those who plan to go on to college.

Ever heard of The Nation’s Report Card? That’s NAEP: the assessment results are released as The Nation’s Report Card, and they help the President, Congress, and all of our educators make decisions about how to improve our education system. NAEP is what the general public will hear about on the news when reporters discuss what high school students are learning.

The actual assessment takes about 90 minutes. During that time, students will be assessed in mathematics or reading. All students will be asked questions about their educational experiences that may be related to performance, such as homework and reading habits. Student scores are anonymous and will not affect student grades or academic records in any way. Instead, they will be combined with the scores of other students to produce results that reflect student capabilities nationwide.

Students who are selected to participate in NAEP have an important job to do. NAEP will provide a national snapshot of what students have learned in school, and it is essential that students take it seriously, try their best, and answer all the questions they can.

If you would like to see questions or results from past NAEP assessments and learn more about NAEP and why it is important for students, check out NAEP on Twitter and Facebook, or visit http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/students.