The NAEP Geography Assessment: Will It Come Back?

Abstract

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) program periodically conducts national-level assessments of student achievement in geography. In July 2019, the National Assessment Governing Board announced a decision to eliminate geography, economics, arts, and foreign language assessments from the NAEP testing schedule through 2029. In this commentary, we review the reasons behind the Governing Board’s decision and discuss what geographers can do to advocate for and make enhanced uses of NAEP geography reports and data.

Keywords:

• NAEP
• education policy
• educational assessment research
• assessment
• assessment processes

Notes

Acknowledgments

We are grateful for the constructive comments received from Michelle Kinzer (AAG) and John Wertman (Esri) on an earlier draft of this commentary.

Notes

1 https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/geography/

2 https://www.nagb.gov/news-and-events/news-releases/2019/release-20190724-assessment-schedule.html

3 https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/04/23/betsy-devos-calls-low-history-civics-marks-stark-inexcusable-are-naep-scores-worth-fretting/

4 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/09/19/the-nations-report-card-says-it-assesses-critical-thinking-in-history-but-naep-gets-an-f-on-that-score/

5 https://www.nagb.gov/content/nagb/assets/documents/what-we-do/quarterly-board-meeting-materials/2019-05/08-naep-assessment-schedule-and-budget.pdf

6 https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/data/

7 NSF Award DRL-1937307.

8 http://www.ncrge.org/naep-geography/

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Michael Solem

Michael Solem is Professor of Geography at Texas State University and Co-Director of the National Center for Research in Geography Education. He serves the American Association of Geographers (AAG) as Senior Advisor for Geography Education. In 2015, he was awarded AAG Gilbert Grosvenor Honors in Geographic Education.

Joseph Stoltman

Joseph Stoltman is Professor of Geography and Science Education at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI. He instructs large classes within the Geography Essential Studies Program, chairs doctoral committees within the Mallinson Institute for Science Education, and mentors pre-service secondary education students in geography. Among many awards, he is a recipient of the James Park Thomson Medal for International Service to Geography from the Queensland Royal Geographical Society of Australasia.