NAEP 2013 Coming Soon to Westwood High School!

What is NAEP? NAEP stands for the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Ever heard of “The Nation’s Report Card”? It shows the results of NAEP! Tests are given to assess student achievement in major subject areas across the nation at grades 4, 8, and 12.

What does this mean for our school? We have been selected to participate and represent schools across Iowa and the nation. Iowa is one of only 13 states that will receive grade 12 NAEP results. We are one of 115 schools in Iowa. Approximately 100,000 seniors have been randomly selected by NAEP—including you!

What is on the test? Seniors will take an assessment in mathematics or reading. All questions are paper-pencil, and you will be able to write your answers in the test book. Questions are multiple-choice, short answer, or essay. The assessment also includes questions about how your teachers teach, your educational experiences, and other information.

Mathematics Sample Question #1 The principal of a high school would like to determine why there has been a large decline during the year in the number of students who buy food in the school’s cafeteria. To do this, 25 students from the school will be surveyed. Which method would be the most appropriate for selecting the 25 students to participate in the survey? A B C D E Randomly select 25 students from the senior class. Randomly select 25 students from those taking physics. Randomly select 25 students from a list of all students at the school. Randomly select 25 students from a list of students who eat in the cafeteria. Give the survey to the first 25 students to arrive at school in the morning.

Mathematics Sample Question #2 Bob is going on a trip. He will be taking a taxi, a flight, and then a train. Bob chose the following three companies based on their claims. –Tom’s Taxi Service claims that it is on time 95 percent of the time. –Friendly Flyer Airlines claims that it is on time 93 percent of the time. –Rapid Railways claims that it is on time 98 percent of the time. Based on the three companies’ claims, what is the approximate probability that all three parts of Bob’s trip will be on time, assuming that all three probabilities are independent? Answer: 87% or 0.87 Solution (not required in the response).95 x.93 x.98 =.8658 ≈.87

Excerpt #1 From Reading Sample Question Passage “Do you know, sometimes on still, quiet evenings like this, I almost get a creepy feeling that they will all walk in through that window—” She broke off with a little shudder. It was a relief to Framton when the aunt bustled into the room with a whirl of apologies for being late in making her appearance. “I hope Vera has been amusing you?” she said. “She has been very interesting,” said Framton. From The Open Window by Saki (H. H. Munro) (1870–1916)

Reading Sample Question #1 Which of the following best describes what happens in the story? A young man visits his aunt and tells her about a recent tragedy. A young girl amuses her family by telling them scary stories. A young girl makes up a story and frightens a nervous visitor. A family plays a trick on a young man from out of town. A B C D

Excerpt #2 From Reading Sample Question Passage “It had been that dreadful wet summer, you know, and places that were safe in other years gave way suddenly without warning. Their bodies were never recovered. That was the dreadful part of it.” Here the child’s voice lost its self-possessed note and became falteringly human. “Poor aunt always thinks that they will come back someday, they and the little brown spaniel that was lost with them, and walk in at that window just as they used to do.” From The Open Window by Saki (H. H. Munro) (1870–1916)

Reading Sample Question #2 Using specific details from the story, explain what Vera does or says to make Framton believe her. Actual Student Response: Vera makes Framton believe her while she was telling the story her voice lost its self-possessed quality and actually became human. She also broke off the story ending with a shudder. She is a very believable person and very good at lying.

How should I prepare for NAEP? There’s no need to study or prepare. You should try your best to answer each question. NAEP just wants to know how much seniors know about the subject area. Your scores will be anonymous, and will not affect your grades or academic record in any way. Your scores will be combined with the scores of other students to reflect what students know in Iowa.

What should I expect? Testing takes place on Tuesday, January 29, 2013, and will take about 90 minutes. We will call you out of class that day. You will be given a hall pass telling you where to report.

Your participation is important! You represent thousands of seniors in Iowa. Important decisions about education are made using the results of these tests. You can contribute to improving the quality of education for all students in Iowa and across the nation.

Principals play an important role too! Principals will be given a survey to complete about our school’s… –Demographic characteristics –Course requirements –Teachers –Teacher training on new content and teaching approaches This information, along with the student assessment, gives a broad picture of how students are taught across Iowa.

NAEP is important! You have received a great education here at Westwood High School. We want you to do your best because you represent seniors all across Iowa and the nation! It’s a great way to do something good and contribute to the future of education.

Find Out More About NAEP Visit NAEP on the web at Follow us on:

And now the informational video designed just for students...