Mapping State Proficiency Standards (NAEP)

AIR researchers add to the conversation of educational equity through their authorship of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) publication Mapping State Proficiency Standards Onto NAEP Scales. Since states choose their own assessments and definitions of proficient achievement, it can be challenging to compare the results across states. To make sense of this variation, NCES commissions an analysis to mathematically map each state’s standard for proficient performance onto a common scale, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), for each NAEP reading and mathematics assessment conducted at grades 4 and 8.

The AIR-authored report employs a rigorous methodology to map each state's standard for proficiency on the NAEP scale, in relation to the NAEP achievement levels and over time, providing important contributions to the discussion of state achievement standards.