About the Assessment: Target Population and Sample Size

The schools and students participating in NAEP assessments are selected to be representative of all schools nationally. The results from the assessed students are combined to provide accurate estimates of the overall performance of students in public, private, and other types of schools (i.e., Bureau of Indian Education schools and Department of Defense schools) in the nation. The sample sizes shown here give the numbers of students selected to participate, not the numbers who actually did participate. See the participation rates for this assessment.

More information on sampling can be found in NAEP Technical Documentation.

Grades 8 & 12

Student sample size and target population in NAEP writing at grade 8, by type of school: 2011
Type of school	Sample size	Target population
Nation	24,600	3,698,000
Public	22,600	3,399,000
Private	2,100	299,000
NOTE: The sample size is rounded to the nearest hundred. The target population is rounded to the nearest thousand. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2011 Writing Assessment.

Student sample size and target population in NAEP writing at grade 12, by type of school: 2011
Type of school	Sample size	Target population
Nation	28,900	3,269,000
Public	26,300	2,986,000
Private	2,600	283,000
NOTE: The sample size is rounded to the nearest hundred. The target population is rounded to the nearest thousand. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2011 Writing Assessment.