Contacts
Contacts
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a congressionally authorized project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The National Center for Education Statistics, within the Institute of Education Sciences, administers NAEP. The Commissioner of Education Statistics is responsible by law for carrying out the NAEP project. The National Assessment Governing Board oversees and sets policy for NAEP.
For questions related to the NAEP administration or this report's results, contact Grady Wilburn. For questions related to NAEP policy or frameworks, contact the National Assessment Governing Board or call 202-357-6938.
About the NAEP Geography Assessment
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in geography is designed to measure students' knowledge, understanding, and application of geography in the content areas of Space and Place, Environment and Society, and Spatial Dynamics and Connections. Students answer a series of selected-response and open-ended questions based on these content areas in geography. Performance results are reported for students in the nation and disaggregated by various student characteristics.
In 2018, the NAEP geography assessment transitioned from a paper-based assessment (PBA) to a digitally based assessment (DBA) at grade 8. A multi-step process was used for the transition from PBA to DBA, which involved administering the assessment in both formats to randomly equivalent groups of students in 2018. The transition was designed and implemented with careful intent to preserve trend lines that show student performance over time. Thus, the results from the 2018 geography assessment can be compared to results from previous years.