CAST Comments on NAEP Science Framework
Date:
Monday, October 18, 2021
CAST today urged the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) to make improvements to the way students’ science knowledge and abilities are measured. Responding to the NAGB’s request for comments in a recent letter, CAST urged the Board to use Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles when updating the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) science framework. Doing so, CAST asserts, will make the test more equitable, accurate, and effective for all learners. Applying UDL to the NAEP’s design will also bring the assessment in line with a number of federal laws and policies that endorse and provide for the UDL approach to making instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments.
As part of “The Nation’s Report Card,” the science NAEP was given in 2019 to approximately 30,400 grade 4 students, 31,400 grade 8 students, and 26,400 grade 12 students, according to the US Department of Education.