Once said to be off limits, the Trump administration cancels one of the NAEP exams
What is the canceled NAEP long-term trend test?
Advertisement
The tests do not include state-level data, but they do report data by race, gender, and region, among other categories, and are a measurement of the country's educational progress.
The canceled test is only for 17-year-olds, and was
The department 'decided not to fund' the test, according to an email to state officials
When has the test been canceled before?
The nation's 17-year-olds have not actually been tested since 2012. The 2016 and 2020 tests were
Younger students were assessed in 2022 and 2023, but this spring's test of high schoolers would have been the first national data on that age group in well over a decade.
Thomas Kane, a Harvard economist who is part of a team that uses NAEP exams to
Advertisement
'The 17-year-old [test]s have always been problematic because high school graduation rates were changing and the composition of 17-year-olds that were still enrolled in school was changing,' Kane said.
High school dropout rates have fallen dramatically, meaning many 17-year-olds are tested who in prior decades would have already dropped out of school, making the data less reliable.
Still, the main NAEP tests began only in the 1990s, meaning the long-term trend data is necessary for comparisons further back.
What does this mean for the main NAEP?
A member of the National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees the tests, said he was not authorized to comment and directed the Globe to the the Department of Education's communications office, which said the agency continues to support the NAEP and transparency around measuring achievement.
Other NAEP assessments, including the main tests
The NAEP is congressionally mandated, but the Education Department has canceled at least one other related contract, 'for conducting background checks on field staff who administer NAEP tests in schools,' the 74 reported. That contract will be re-evaluated and potentially rebid, Biedermann said.
Why does the National Assessment of Educational Progress matter?
Despite federal promises that the main exam won't be compromised, some researchers question whether the cancelation of the LTT at all foreshadows what may come.
Federal law requires states conduct their own assessments, like the MCAS in Massachusetts, but the NAEP serves as a shared baseline to compare states and over time. The tests have provided important evidence of the dramatic learning loss experienced by America's students during the COVID-19, and the
Advertisement
The
tests are particularly useful, Kane noted, for allowing comparison over time — particularly as
'My concern is the main NAEP — the one that is the source of state level estimates every two years,' Kane said. 'If we want states to be able to design and administer their own tests (and update those tests when necessary), we need the NAEP in order to preserve comparability across states and over time. '
Christopher Huffaker can be reached at
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Harvard, University of Toronto make contingency plan to allow foreign students to study if barred from US
Harvard University and the University of Toronto have revealed a contingency plan that would allow select international Harvard graduate students to continue their education in Canada if the Trump administration's plan to impose US visa restrictions and prevent them from re-entering the US is upheld by the courts. The US Department of Homeland Security moved last month to terminate Harvard's ability to enroll international students after the university allegedly failed to provide extensive behavioral records of student visa holders the agency had requested, including footage of protest activity involving student visa holders, even if it's not criminal, and the disciplinary records of all student visa holders in the past five years. A federal judge has since blocked the government's effort to end the university's visa program. Because of potential US visa challenges, students at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government who may be unable to return to the US will be given the option to continue their studies through a visiting student program at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. The program would combine courses taught by Kennedy and Munk faculty members, according to the deans of both institutions. The contingency plans were released to ease student uncertainty, but will only be used if there is enough demand from students unable to enter the US over potential visa or entry restrictions, the deans said in a statement. The Trump administration has moved to cut billions of dollars in federal research funding for Harvard. 'With these contingency plans in place, HKS will be able to continue to provide a world-class public policy education to all of our students, even if they cannot make it to our campus this year,' Harvard Kennedy School Dean Jeremy Weinstein said. The program will be available to international students who have already completed one year at the US campus. The Trump administration has moved to cut billions of dollars in federal research funding for Harvard, in part, over its handling of alleged antisemitism and violence on campus amid anti-Israel protests sparked by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Harvard University and the University of Toronto released contingency plans to ease student uncertainty about potential visa restrictions. AFP via Getty Images Weinstein announced staff layoffs at Kennedy in a recent email to faculty and staff, citing 'unprecedented new headwinds' creating 'significant financial challenges,' including a 'substantial proposed increase in the endowment tax' and 'massive cuts to federal funding of research.' Over the past five years, more than 50% of Kennedy students have come from outside the US, the school's media office said. A total of 739 students from 92 countries in programs aimed at developing leadership in public policy and government are enrolled at the school, according to the Harvard International Office website.
Bloomberg
7 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Students Trying to ‘Escape the Trump Years' Turn to UK Universities
Wealth As the Trump administration clashes with elite colleges and targets foreign students, Britain is seen as a place to escape the polarizing politics on US campuses. For the past 15 years, Don McMillan, a college-admissions consultant, has worked just down the road from Harvard University, one of the most prestigious schools targeted by his clients from the US and around the globe. This month, he expanded his business 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometers) and an ocean away to tap into what's becoming a rapidly growing line of work: Advising the students who are souring on America and looking to go to college in the UK instead.
Boston Globe
7 hours ago
- Boston Globe
White House ending protected status for Haitian migrants, sparking fears in Massachusetts
The department set a Sept. 2 termination date for Haitians living in the country under temporary protected status. (The program ends Aug. 3 but officially takes effect Sept. 2). Protected status shields immigrants from deportation and grants them work permits. It is reserved for people fleeing countries in upheaval. 'This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that Temporary Protective Status is actually temporary,' a DHS spokesperson said in a statement. 'The environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home.' Advertisement In Massachusetts, Haitians are one of the state's largest immigrant populations. The local Haitian community and advocates for them decried President Trump's undoing of the protections. Pastor Dieufort Fleurissaint, a Haitian community advocate known by his nickname, Pastor Keke, said there was 'consternation' in Boston's Haitian community Friday evening as word spread. 'Everyone is calling to ask what's going to happen to their future here, to their employment, to the future of their children,' he said in a telephone interview. Fleurissaint said the conditions in Haiti have not improved as federal officials have suggested. Advertisement 'You have a humanitarian collapse,' he said. 'The decision today will leave returning Haitian citizens at very high risk of persecution, danger, homelessness. People have nowhere to go.' Fleurissaint said he was still processing the news himself. 'The only hope we have is God,' he said. 'God and to call upon our friends and allies, elected officials, to advocate on our behalf, so these families can be protected and find a way to enact permanent solutions.' Haitians were granted temporary protected status after the island nation suffered a devastating earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010. The designation has been extended several times. President Joe Biden extended it until 2026 right before he left office. Ruthzee Louijeune, 'It is also bad for our economy,' she said. 'Haitian health care workers with TPS helped our country get through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, often to the detriment of their own bodies and families," she said. 'Anyone who states that country conditions have improved in Haiti is actively and affirmatively lying,' she said. Representative Ayanna Pressley condemned the DHS decision on social media as 'an act of policy violence that could literally be a death sentence.' 'We should NOT be deporting anyone to a nation still dealing with a grave humanitarian crisis like Haiti,' Pressley wrote on Heather Yountz, senior immigration staff attorney at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, said, 'This is a heartbreaking example of the Trump administration stripping people of their legal status without a justified reason simply to fulfill the harmful mass deportations he promised.' Advertisement The idea that the gang-ridden country which hasn't seen an election in nearly a decade is safer 'is preposterous,' Yountz said. After a review of the conditions in Haiti from US Citizenship and Immigration Services and in consultation with the US Department of State, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem determined that Haitians no longer meet the requirements for TPS, Friday's statement said. The agency encouraged Haitians who don't have another means of gaining lawful status after their TPS status expires to self-deport, and use the US Customs and Border Protection app to report themselves leaving the country. Despite DHS's claims that Haitians could return home 'safely,' dozens of Haitians interviewed by the Globe in the past year have said that they would be unable to go back to Haiti without the threat of violence and severe economic instability back in their country. The State Department also cautions US citizens not to visit Haiti, The In Massachusetts, immigration advocates had been preparing for this moment since the Trump administration announced back in February that it would revoke the Biden extension of Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants. 'We've been expecting this,' said Sarang Sekhavat, the Chief of Staff at the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. 'But it's horrible regardless.' Advertisement Some TPS holders have lived in Massachusetts for more than a decade after fleeing the aftermath of the earthquake, severe gang violence, and political turmoil. In 2021, the country's president was assassinated. 'It's not like the situation in Haiti has gotten better,' Sekhavat said. Sekhavat said that MIRA and its partners have been encouraging Haitians here under TPS to consult with attorneys, to see what kinds of options might be available to them. Some may have other means to stay in the country legally, like applying for asylum, or if they have US relatives or employers who could petition for their legal status. But, Sekhavat said, 'unfortunately, there's not a blanket answer for these folks.' Boston-based Lawyers for Civil Rights, The group said that DHS's assertions that conditions in Haiti have improved are 'simply false.' 'Haiti is experiencing unprecedented political violence, instability, and humanitarian collapse. Even the U.S. State Department warns Americans not to travel there — yet DHS insists Haitian families can safely return? That contradiction is indefensible,' the statement said. 'We are not backing down. We will use every legal tool at our disposal to stop this cruel and unlawful termination,' the statement added. Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio can be reached at
