How to Use NAEP Frameworks

Consider NAEP frameworks as guidelines when you revise state or district curricula. NAEP frameworks present and explain what experts in a particular subject area consider important. Each framework contains a subject outline that describes what students at grades 4, 8, and 12 should know and be able to do in that NAEP content area. The frameworks also provide specific examples of challenging objectives and sample test questions to illustrate the content standards. This information may serve as a "road map" to help teachers and curriculum planners evaluate and revise current state or district standards.

Use the NAEP frameworks to evaluate how classroom instruction and assessment focus on each cognitive level. Frameworks frequently provide research-based information on important higher-order skills that students should master at each grade level. For example, by studying the mathematics framework teachers might see that most of their instruction in measurement addresses only procedural knowledge such as the ability to apply formulas for perimeter and area. In this manner, the NAEP framework may assist teachers in expanding their level of instruction to include more complex problem-solving exercises at a grade-appropriate level.

Use released NAEP constructed-response questions and their corresponding scoring guides, along with the frameworks, as models of how to use innovative, challenging assessment practices that measure a given framework skill. The sample scoring guides may help teachers improve the way they score student responses.

—Mary Crovo, National Assessment Governing Board

Read more about NAEP frameworks or NAEP scoring.