AR276

An Assembly Resolution urging the United States Department of Education to conduct the National Assessment of Educational Progress in 2021.

Whereas, On November 25, 2020, the Commissioner for Education Statistics in the United States Department of Education announced that, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on school operations, the National Center for Education Statistics would be postponing the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) until 2022; and

Whereas, It was the opinion of the commissioner that, with many schools switching to distance learning or reducing the number of visitors to school buildings for in-person or hybrid scheduling, the NAEP would be unable to produce sufficiently valid and reliable estimates of student abilities; and

Whereas, By postponing the assessment for one year, the commissioner believed it would provide sufficient time for public health conditions to improve; and

Whereas, The NAEP, often referred to as “the nation’s report card,” is a biennial assessment of student competencies in areas such as arts, civics, economics, geography, mathematics, reading, science, technology, history, and writing in grades four, eight, and twelve; and

Whereas, A representative sample of students is taken from all 50 states with the results being used to conduct comprehensive comparisons of student achievement across different states, certain school districts, and demographic groups; and

Whereas, This data allows parents, educators, and policymakers to identify ways to improve the delivery of education in the United States; and

Whereas, The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted the delivery of education to students across the country and exacerbated many of the inequities experienced by underserved students before the pandemic in areas such as technology, academic support, food security, and mental health; and

Whereas, Under normal circumstances, postponement of the NAEP would still have allowed for the tracking of slow-moving changes in student achievement and development of appropriate responses to those trends; and

Whereas, In light of COVID-19 school closures, however, the need for NAEP data on student achievement becomes more urgent as preliminary evidence indicates that millions of students have already experienced severe learning loss over the past year; and

Whereas, Without sufficient educational data, parents, school administrators, policymakers, and educators will be unable to develop solutions to address COVID-19 learning loss; and

Whereas, Given the potentially harmful consequences to the development of our students, it is critically important to collect valid and reliable educational data through administration of the NAEP in 2021; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. This House urges the United States Department of Education to conduct the National Assessment of Educational Progress in 2021 in order to assess the extent and severity of student learning loss caused by COVID-19 school closures.

2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the President of the United States, the United States Secretary of Education, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, and each member of Congress elected from this State.

STATEMENT

This resolution urges the United States Department of Education to conduct the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in 2021. On November 25, 2020, the Commissioner for Education Statistics in the United States Department of Education announced that, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on schools, the National Center for Education Statistics would be postponing the NAEP until 2022. By postponing the assessment for one year, the commissioner believed it would provide sufficient time for public health conditions to improve.

The NAEP, often referred to as “the nation’s report card,” is a biennial assessment of student competencies in areas such as arts, civics, economics, geography, mathematics, reading, science, technology, history, and writing in grades four, eight, and twelve. A representative sample of students is taken from all 50 states with the results being used to conduct comprehensive comparisons of student achievement across different states, certain school districts, and demographic groups. This data allows parents, educators, and policymakers to identify ways to improve the delivery of education in the United States

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted the delivery of education to students across the country and exacerbated many of the inequities experienced by underserved students before the pandemic in areas such as technology, academic support, food security, and mental health. Under normal circumstances, postponement of the NAEP would still have allowed for the tracking of slow-moving changes in student achievement and development of appropriate responses to those trends. However, in light of COVID-19 school closures, the need for NAEP data on student achievement becomes more urgent as preliminary evidence indicates that millions of students have already experienced severe learning loss over the past year. Without sufficient educational data, parents, school administrators, policymakers, and educators will be unable to develop solutions to address COVID-19 learning loss. Given the potentially harmful consequences to the development of our students, it is critically important to collect valid and reliable educational data through administration of the NAEP in 2021.