Notice2025-23282

Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2027

Primary source

Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.

Published
December 18, 2025

Issuing agencies

Education Department

Abstract

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Department is proposing a revision of a currently approved information collection request (ICR).

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 241 (Thursday, December 18, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 241 (Thursday, December 18, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59095-59096]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-23282]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2025-SCC-1141]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2027

AGENCY: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Institute of 
Education Sciences (IES), Department of Education (ED).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 
the Department is proposing a revision of a currently approved 
information collection request (ICR).

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
February 17, 2026.

ADDRESSES: To access and review all the documents related to the 
information collection listed in this notice, please use <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a> by searching the Docket ID number ED-2025-SCC-1141. 
Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted 
electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a> by selecting the Docket ID number or via postal 
mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. If the <a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a> 
site is not available to the public for any reason, the Department will 
temporarily accept comments at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#703933341f131b15043d17023015145e171f06"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bff6fcfbd0dcd4dacbf2d8cdffdadb91d8d0c9">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>. Please include the 
docket ID number and the title of the information collection request 
when requesting documents or submitting comments. Please note that 
comments submitted after the comment period will not be accepted. 
Written requests for information or comments submitted by postal mail 
or delivery should be addressed to the National Center for Education 
Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, LBJ, 
Room 5C125, Washington, DC 20202-1200.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Matt Soldner, 202-453-7441.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department, in accordance with the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), 
provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to 
comment on proposed, revised, and continuing collections of 
information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its 
information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting 
burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's 
information collection requirements and provide the requested data in 
the desired format. The Department is soliciting comments on the 
proposed information collection request (ICR) that is described below. 
The Department is especially interested in public comment addressing 
the following issues: (1) is this collection necessary to the proper 
functions of the Department; (2) will this information be processed and 
used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) 
how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (5) how might the Department 
minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including 
through the use of information technology. Please note that written 
comments received in response to this notice will be considered public 
records.
    Title of Collection: National Assessment of Educational Progress 
(NAEP) 2027.
    OMB Control Number: 1850-0928.
    Type of Review: A revision of a currently approved ICR.
    Respondents/Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal Governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 17,830.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 10,625.
    Abstract: The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is 
a federally authorized survey of student achievement at grades 4, 8, 
and 12 in various subject areas, such as mathematics, reading, writing, 
science, U.S. history, and civics.
    NAEP is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics 
(NCES) in the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of 
Education. NCES is responsible for designing and executing the 
assessment, including designing the assessment procedures and 
methodology, developing the assessment content, selecting the final 
assessment content, sampling schools and students, recruiting schools, 
administering the assessment, scoring student responses, determining 
the analysis procedures, analyzing the data, and reporting the results.
    The National Assessment Governing Board (henceforth referred to as 
the Governing Board or NAGB), appointed by the Secretary of Education 
but independent of the Department, is a bipartisan group whose members 
include governors, state legislators, local and state school officials, 
educators, business representatives, and members of the general public. 
The Governing Board sets policy for NAEP and is responsible for 
developing the frameworks and test specifications that serve as the 
blueprint for the assessments.
    NAEP consists of two assessment programs: the NAEP Long-term Trend 
(LTT) assessment and the main NAEP assessment. The LTT assessments are 
given at the national level only and are administered to students at 
ages 9, 13, and 17 in a manner that is very different from that used 
for the main NAEP assessments. LTT reports mathematics and reading 
results that present trend data since the 1970s. LTT does not

[[Page 59096]]

provide scores for individual students or schools.
    The main NAEP assessments report current achievement levels and 
trends in student achievement at grades 4, 8, and 12 for the nation 
and, for certain assessments (e.g., reading and mathematics), states 
and select urban districts (i.e., Trial Urban District Assessment, or 
TUDA). The main NAEP assessments provide results on subject-matter 
achievement, instructional experiences, and school environment for 
different student populations (e.g., all fourth-graders) and groups 
within those populations (e.g., sex [male and female students], race/
ethnicity groups). NAEP does not provide scores for individual students 
or schools.
    The NAEP assessments contain two different types of items: 
``cognitive'' assessment items, which measure what students know and 
can do in an academic subject, and ``survey'' or ``non-cognitive'' 
items, which gather information such as demographic variables, as well 
as construct-related information, such as courses taken. The survey 
portion includes a collection of data from students, teachers, and 
school administrators. Since NAEP assessments are administered 
uniformly using the same sets of test forms across the nation, NAEP 
results serve as a common metric for all states and select urban 
districts. The assessment stays essentially the same from year to year, 
with only carefully documented changes. This permits NAEP to provide a 
clear picture of student academic progress over time.
    The possible universe of student respondents for NAEP 2027 is 
estimated to be 12,000 students at grade 8 attending the approximately 
308 public and private schools in a variety of states and the District 
of Columbia and may include Bureau of Indian Education Schools.
    This request is to conduct NAEP in 2027, specifically for the Grade 
8 Science Pilot.
    NAEP will administer the assessment using school devices and the 
internet. For schools that cannot meet the minimum specification for 
the use of school devices, NAEP will provide an alternate delivery 
model utilizing NAEP Chromebooks. NAEP has transitioned to primarily 
administer on school devices with a staged approach so that trends can 
be measured across time. NAEP conducted a School-based Equipment study 
in 2024 (OMB #1850-0803 v.347) as well as a Field Test in 2025 (OMB 
#1850-0803 v.353) to provide more information about student and school 
interactions with the eNAEP system on school devices, as compared to 
NAEP Chromebooks and Surface Pros, to inform the use of school devices 
at a larger scale in NAEP assessments beginning in 2026. Also, a 2026 
bridge study will compare NAEP devices and school devices to evaluate 
whether scores from the two different assessment models are comparable. 
Note: in this study, some schools that qualify to be assessed on school 
devices will be assessed on NAEP devices, since the two different 
school types (i.e., those qualified to assess on school devices, and 
those not qualified to assess on school devices) may have different 
characteristics. This will allow the study to establish a common 
linking population.
    This Clearance package is the first submission for the 2027 
assessment, with both 60-day and 30-day consecutive public comment 
period notices that will be published in the Federal Register. While 
some drafted materials are included in this 60-day package in 
Appendices D, E, and I, the majority of 2027 materials are not 
available for this submission. Several final communications and 
Assessment Management System screens will be available in the 30-day 
package, which will be posted to the Federal Register in March 2026. 
This Clearance Package will have one amendment, which is planned to be 
submitted in July 2026, and which will replace any remaining drafted 
materials with final versions for the 2027 NAEP assessments.

Ross Santy,
Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy 
Development.
[FR Doc. 2025-23282 Filed 12-17-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P


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