The National Assessment of Educational Progress in Economics: Findings for General Economics

Since 1969, achievement studies have been conducted in various subjects in elementary and secondary school curricula as part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Economics has now been added to the list. This study offers a brief description of the NAEP test in economics and presents some findings from the 2006 assessment given to twelfth-grade students who were taking a general economics course. NAEP is mandated by Congress and administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) at the US Department of Education. Policy direction and review are under the control of the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB). For the economics assessment, the National Council on Economic Education, the American Institutes for Research, and the Council of Chief State School Officers developed a content framework for economics in 2001. These organizations established several committees composed of economists, educators, business and government leaders, and testing experts to prepare the assessment framework, subject to final approval by the NAGB. The major decision for the test developers was what economics content should be included in the test. Most economics courses in high schools last for a semester and cover basic