Microsoft Word - NAEP 2027 Amendment_Change Memo v40 (1)

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July 14, 2026
MEMORANDUM
To:

Bev M. Pratt, OMB

From:

Gina Ruehl, Enis Dogan, Yan Wang, NCES

Through:

Matthew Soldner, NCES

Re:

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2027 Amendment (OMB# 1850-0928 v.40)

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES), is a federally authorized survey of student achievement at grades 4, 8, and 12 in various subject areas, such
as mathematics, reading, writing, science, U.S. history, and civics. The National Assessment of Educational Progress
Authorization Act (Public Law 107-279 Title III, section 303) requires the assessment to collect data on specified
student groups and characteristics, including information organized by race/ethnicity, sex, socio-economic status,
disability, and limited English proficiency. It requires fair and accurate presentation of achievement data and permits
the collection of background, noncognitive, or descriptive information that is related to academic achievement and
aids in fair reporting of results. The intent of the law is to provide representative sample data on student achievement
for the nation, the states, and subpopulations of students and to monitor progress over time. The nature of NAEP is
that burden alternates from a relatively low burden in national-level administration years to a substantial burden
increase in state-level administration years when the sample has to allow for estimates for individual states and some
of the large urban districts.
NAEP 2027 will include the grade 8 Science Pilot assessment.
This Amendment is a revision to the NAEP 2027 Clearance package (OMB#1850-0928 v.39). Since the 30-day
Clearance Package, there are minor changes to burden hours and costs to the Federal Government. Minor shifts in
schools expected to participate in School Device Model versus NAEP Device Model, as well as percentages of
schools who will need an additional staff member to support the assessment, resulted in an increase in burden hours
from the initial Clearance package (10,790 hours) compared to this Amendment (10,892 hours).
In addition, the costs to the Federal Government have increased by $1,889,007 from the initial Clearance package.
Since the OMB approval of the initial Clearance Package, the Confidentiality Assurances are unchanged.
This Amendment includes updates to: Parts A and B including changes to burden hours and costs, committee
members and their affiliations in Appendix A, communication materials in Appendix D (see headers notated with
“NEW”), the school coordinator preassessment and assessment day feedback forms in Appendix E, Assessment
Management System (AMS) screens in Appendix I (see headers notated with “NEW”), final survey questionnaire
items (SQs) in J-1 (student), J-2 (teacher), J-3 (school administrator), the 2027 sampling memo in Appendix C.
Additionally, NAEP changed the TUDA acronym from “Trends in Urban Districts Assessment (TUDA)” to “Trial
Urban District Assessment (TUDA),” and references throughout package documents reflect this change. This package
is the final submission for the 2027 NAEP assessment.

The following table and pages below provide a summary of the changes that are included in this submission.

Summary of All Changes
Document
Part A
Part B

Changes




Burden and Costs to the Federal Government updates
Editorial updates (e.g., references to the Amendment, schedule, or Appendices)
Editorial updates (e.g., references to the Amendment, schedule, or Appendices)

Appendix A



Minor updates to committee members and/or their affiliations

Appendix C





Appendix E



The 2027 sampling memo
All communication and recruitment materials; See documents marked “NEW”
Of note, the term “Trends in Urban Districts Assessment (TUDA)” is now used in communications
rather than “Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA).” The previously approved versions of the Facts
for Districts and Facts for Principals documents have this updated naming convention reflected in this
appendix.
The school coordinator preassessment and assessment day feedback forms

Appendix I



Assessment Management System content and screens; See documents marked “NEW”

Appendix J-1
Appendix J-2



2027 Student Questionnaires



2027 Teacher Questionnaires

Appendix J-3



2027 School Questionnaires

Appendix D

Part A Changes
A.1.a. Purpose of Submission
The main NAEP assessments report current achievement levels and trends in student achievement at grades
4, 8, and 12 for the nation and, for certain assessments (e.g., reading and mathematics), states and select
urban districts (i.e., Trends in Urban Districts Assessment, or TUDA)1. The main NAEP assessments
provide results on subject-matter achievement, instructional experiences, and school environment for
different student populations (e.g., all fourth-graders) and groups within those populations (e.g., sex [male
and female students], race/ethnicity groups). NAEP does not provide scores for individual students or
schools.
The possible universe of student respondents for NAEP 2027 is estimated to be 12,000 students at grade 8
attending the approximately 321 public and private schools in a variety of states and the District of
Columbia and may include Bureau of Indian Education Schools.

Deleted: Trial Urban District Assessment

Deleted: attending the
Deleted: 08
Deleted: approximately 321

NAEP will administer the assessment using school devices and internet. For schools that cannot meet the
minimum specification for the use of school devices, NAEP will provide an alternate delivery model
utilizing NAEP Chromebooks. NAEP has transitioned to administering on school devices with a staged
approach so that trends can be measured across time. NAEP conducted a School-based Equipment study in
2024 (OMB #1850-0803 v.347) as well as a Field Test in 2025 (OMB #1850-0803 v.353) to provide more
information about student and school interactions with the eNAEP system on school devices, as compared
to NAEP Chromebooks and Surface Pros, to inform the use of school devices at a larger scale in NAEP
assessments beginning in 2026. Also, results from a 2026 bridge study are being analyzed to compare
NAEP devices and school devices to evaluate whether scores from the two different assessment models are
comparable. Note: in this study, some schools that qualified to be assessed on school devices were assessed
on NAEP devices, since the two different school types (i.e., those qualified to assess on school devices, and
those not qualified to assess on school devices) may have different characteristics. This allows the study to
establish a common linking population.

Deleted: 08

This submission is an Amendment to the 2027 NAEP Clearance package, which was approved in May
2026. All final materials needed for the 2027 Science Pilot administration, which includes communication
materials, Assessment Management System (AMS) content, survey questionnaires, and supporting
Appendices are available in this Amendment.

Deleted: the 30-day component of the

Deleted: public and private schools in a variety of states and the
District of Columbia, and may include Bureau of Indian Education
Schools.…
Deleted: the
Deleted: primarily

Deleted: will
Deleted: y
Deleted: will be
Deleted: will

Deleted: follows the 60-day submission and public posting on the
Federal Register
Deleted: F
Deleted: early
Deleted: and
Deleted: screens

A.1.c.3. Survey Items

Deleted: 30-day packag

To minimize burden on the respondents and maximize the number of topics or constructs addressed via the
questionnaires, NAEP may spiral items across student respondent forms in the pilot assessment and/or rotate
some non-required items across assessment administrations. All NAEP Grade 8 Science Pilot questionnaires
are provided in their final form in the Amendment in Appendices J1, J2, and J3. Survey questionnaires from
previous administrations can be viewed on the NAEP website:
https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/experience/archive.aspx.

Deleted: e, which will be used to notify the public of the
upcoming assessment and prepare schools for the 2027 Science Pilot
Deleted: This Clearance Package will have one Amendment,
which is planned to be submitted in Summer 2026. Any remaining
draft materials will be replaced in the Amendment with final
versions that will be used in the 2027 NAEP assessments. For more
information, refer to the Amendment Schedule Table below.
Deleted: NAEP 2027 Amendment Schedule Table
Deleted: will be

A.1.c.5. Digital Test Delivery
In 2027, the NAEP assessment will be administered either on school devices or NAEP devices using the
NAEP Assessment Application, also referred to as eNAEP. The NAEP Assessment Application will be
installed and confirmed on school devices during the preassessment phase. As part of this Amendment,
1 Note: Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) has changed to Trends in Urban Districts Assessment (TUDA). References to this term are updated throughout the package.

Deleted: Survey questionnaire items that were used in past
administrations and were previously approved by OMB can be
found in Appendix F (OMB #1850-0928 v.36) and

... [1]

NAEP will be supporting additional device types, specifically macOS. The Download Center (Appendix D7) has been updated accordingly, and additional communications to schools have also been included in this
submission (Appendix D-28). Sampled schools that do not meet the technical requirements for school
devices, outlined in the eNAEP Download Center (Appendix D-7), will be provided with NAEP
Chromebooks. These devices will use the NAEP Network and will have the NAEP Assessment Application
installed for students to complete the assessment.

Deleted: (see the eNAEP Download Center in Appendix D-7)
Deleted: S

A.3. Improved Use of Technology
Online Teacher and School Administrator Questionnaires
The NAEP program delivers teacher and school administrator survey questionnaires online through an
application. This survey application is compatible with major browsers (e.g., Chrome, Safari, Edge, Firefox)
and operating systems, including Windows, ChromeOS, macOS, and iPadOS. Participants receive a secure,
personalized link and access code—generated by the AMS—to complete their survey. After submission, the
survey data are transmitted in real time to NAEP analytic dashboard for monitoring completion status.
Digitally Based Content
NAEP transitioned to DBA in 2017/2019 using NAEP-provided Windows devices. In 2024, NAEP
expanded to include both Windows and Chromebook devices before fully transitioning to school-owned
devices. Since these school devices are comparable to NAEP-provided devices, NAEP is moving forward
with using school devices for future administrations. This allows NAEP to provide assessments consistent
with other large-scale assessments. In 2027, it is expected that slightly more than 80% of schools will use
school devices to participate in the Pilot administration.

Deleted: M

Deleted: 80
Deleted: and 20% will utilize
Deleted: NAEP devices

Automated Scoring
NAEP administers a combination of selected-response items and open-ended or constructed-response items.
In recent years, NAEP has introduced algorithmic scoring for selected-responses items that have a definable
and finite number of responses, and each response can be unambiguously coded to map to a level of the
scoring rubric. Algorithmic scoring is fully automated, yielding process and cost efficiencies. The volume of
algorithmically-scored items continues to increase as more items are developed for DBA. NAEP uses
human scorers to score the constructed-response items, using detailed scoring rubrics and proven scoring
methodologies. With the increased use of technologies, the methodology and reliability of automated
scoring (i.e., the scoring of constructed-response items using computer software) have advanced. In 2026,
the majority of operational reading items were scored using automated scoring methodologies. Note, the
remaining operational reading items and mathematics items were human scored. However, automated
scoring will not be utilized in scoring the 2027 science pilot administration.

Deleted:

Deleted: ill use
Deleted: will be

A.8. Consultations Outside the Agency
Appendix A lists the current members of the following NAEP advisory committees:
NAEP Design and Analysis Committee
NAEP Mathematics Standing Committee
NAEP Reading Standing Committee
NAEP Survey Questionnaires Standing Committee
NAEP Science Standing Committee
NAEP Validity Panel

Deleted: ¶

Deleted: During March 2026, we solicited public comments via a
30D Federal Register Notice. We received ten comments from one
commenter. Comments from the commenter addressed a range of
issues including burden, the utility of NAEP data, the potential for
duplication of state assessments and NAEP’s incremental value over
such assessments, and NAEP’s use of technology. We appreciate the
respondent’s thorough review of the NAEP 2027 Clearance Package
and the continued support of the important data that NAEP provides
to the public. NCES will continue its efforts at efficiency and
modernization in this and future collections. No changes were made
to this request in response to the commenter's comments.¶

A.11. Sensitive Questions
Educators, psychologists, economists, and others have called for the collection of non-cognitive student
information that can explain why some students do better in school than others. Similar questions have been
included in other NCES-administered assessments such as the Trends in International Mathematics and
Science Study (TIMSS), the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), and other federal
questionnaires, including the U.S. Census. The insights achieved by the use of these well-established survey
questions will help educators, policymakers, and other stakeholders make better informed decisions about
how best to help students develop the knowledge and skills they need to succeed.

Deleted: the National School Climate Survey,

A.12. Estimation of Respondent Reporting Burden (2027)
The burden numbers for NAEP data collections fluctuate considerably, with the number of students sampled
every other year being much larger than in the years in between.
Exhibit 1 provides the burden information per respondent group, by grade, for the 2027 data collection. It is
assumed that slightly over 80 percent of the sample will be in the School Device Model. Exhibit 2
summarizes the burden by respondent group.

Deleted: At the time of this submission,
Deleted: i
Deleted: 90
Deleted: 80

School Device Model
 Teachers—The teachers of the eighth-grade students participating in the main NAEP are asked to
complete questionnaires about their teaching background, education, training, and classroom
organization. Average eighth-grade teacher burden is 20 minutes if only one subject is taught, and an
additional 10 minutes for each additional subject taught in an operational year. For the 2027 science pilot
administration, the teacher SQ burden is estimated to be 20 minutes.
 Principals/Administrators—The school administrators in the sampled schools are asked to complete a
questionnaire. The core items are designed to measure school characteristics and policies that research
has shown are highly correlated with student achievement. Subject-specific items concentrate on
curriculum and instructional services issues. The burden for school administrators is determined in the
same manner as burden for teachers (see above) and is estimated to average 20 minutes per
principal/administrator, although burden may vary depending on the number of subject-specific sections
included. The 20-minute burden estimate includes a supplemental charter school questionnaire designed
to collect information on charter school policies and characteristics and is provided to administrators of
charter schools who are sampled to participate in NAEP. The supplement covers organization and school
governance, parental involvement, and curriculum and offerings.
 Additional School Staff—Schools who choose to assess all 50 sampled students at once in one or two locations
are asked to designate an additional staff member to provide classroom management support. Based on the 2026
Operational Assessment, it is estimated that 77 percent of the schools will choose to assess all 50 students at one
time. The burden for this individual would be 120 minutes, and this is captured in Exhibit 1.

Deleted: public-school
Deleted: , and 1020 percent of the sample will be in the NAEP
Device Model. For private schools it is assumed that 25% of the
sample will be in School Device Model and 75% will be in NAEP
Device Model…

Deleted: 3

Deleted: 30
Deleted: 30

Deleted: 5 Field Test
Deleted: 46

NAEP Device Model
 Teachers—The teachers of eighth-grade students participating in NAEP are asked to complete
questionnaires about their teaching background, education, training, and classroom organization. Average
eighth-grade teacher burden is 20 minutes if only one subject is taught, and an additional 10 minutes for
each additional subject taught in an operational year. For the 2027 science pilot administration, the
teacher SQ burden is estimated to be 20 minutes.
 Principals/Administrators—The school administrators in the sampled schools are asked to complete a
questionnaire. The core items are designed to measure school characteristics and policies that research
has shown are highly correlated with student achievement. Subject-specific items concentrate on
curriculum and instructional services issues. The burden for school administrators is determined in the

Deleted: 3

same manner as burden for teachers (see above) and is estimated to average 20 minutes per
principal/administrator, although burden may vary depending on the number of subject-specific sections
included. The 20-minute burden estimate includes a supplemental charter school questionnaire designed
to collect information on charter school policies and characteristics and is provided to administrators of
charter schools who are sampled to participate in NAEP. The supplement covers organization and school
governance, parental involvement, and curriculum and offerings.

Deleted: 30
Deleted: 3

Deleted: 257
Deleted: 64
Deleted: 321

EXHIBIT 1
Estimated Burden for NAEP 2027 Assessments

Deleted: 45
Deleted: 45
Deleted: N/A

th

8 Grade

School Technology
Survey (STS)

Students

Teachers

School Questionnaire
(School Principal)

Preassessment
Activities

Sample Submission
(School Coordinator)
Day of Assessment
Activities

Post-Assessment
activities

SD/EL (School Staff)

Deleted: 193

Subjects

Science Pilot
(School Device
Model)

Science Pilot
(NAEP Device
Model)

Total

# of Staff

270

51

321

Avg. Minutes per
Response

45

45

N/A

Burden (in hours)
# of Students

202
10,080

39
1,920

241
12,000

Avg. Minutes per
Response

30

30

N/A

Burden (in hours)
# of Teachers

5,040
540

960
102

6,000
642

Avg. Minutes per
Response

20

20

N/A

Burden (in hours)
# of Schools

180
270

34
51

214
321

Avg. Minutes per
Response

20

20

N/A

Burden (in hours)
# of Staff

90
540

17
51

107
591

Deleted: 64

Avg. Minutes per
Response

165

120

N/A

Deleted: 64

Burden (in hours)
# of School Coord.

1,485
270

102
51

1,587
321

Burden (in hours)

140

27

167

# of Staff

748

51

799

Deleted: 32

Avg. Minutes per
Response

120

120

N/A

Deleted: 514

Burden (in hours)
# of Staff

1,496
270

102
51

1,598
321

Deleted: 64

Avg. Minutes per
Response

60

20

80

Deleted: 120

Burden (in hours)
# of Schools
# of SD/EL Students

270
270
2,318

17
51
442

287
321
2,760

Avg. Minutes per
Response

15

15

N/A

Deleted: 257

Burden (in hours)

580

111
1,409

691
10,892

Deleted: 321

9,483
Total Burden (in hours)
Note: Numbers may not sum to totals because of rounding.

Deleted: 48
Deleted: 241
Deleted: 9,600
Deleted: 2,400
Deleted: 12,000
Deleted: 30
Deleted: 30
Deleted: N/A
Deleted: 4,800
Deleted: 1,200
Deleted: 6,000
Deleted: 514
Deleted: 128
Deleted: 642
Deleted: 30
Deleted: 30
Deleted: N/A
Deleted: 257
Deleted: 321
Deleted: 257
Deleted: 321
Deleted: 30
Deleted: 30
Deleted: N/A
Deleted: 128
Deleted: 160

Deleted: 578
Deleted: 165
Deleted: N/A
Deleted: 1,412
Deleted: 128
Deleted: 1,541
Deleted: 64
Deleted: 134
Deleted: 33
Deleted: 167
Deleted: 664
Deleted: 632
Deleted: 64
Deleted: 15
Deleted: 696
Deleted: 120
Deleted: 120
Deleted: N/A
Deleted: 328
Deleted: 1,263
Deleted: 128
Deleted: 430

EXHIBIT 2
Total Annual Estimated Burden Time Cost for NAEP 2027 Assessments
Data Collection Year
2027

Number of
Respondents
14,344

Number of Responses
18,076

Total Burden (in
hours)
10,892

Deleted: 14,330
Deleted: 17,99217,960

The estimated respondent burden across all these activities translates into an estimated total burden time
cost of 10,892 hours,2 broken out by respondent group in the table below.
Students
Hours
6,000

Cost
$43,500

Teachers & School Staff
Hours
Cost
4,785
$165,737

Principals
Hours
Cost
107
$5,973

Deleted: 10,72410,790
Deleted: 72490

Total
Hours
10,892

Cost
$215,210

Deleted: 4,6174,630
Deleted: 159,938 $155,879
Deleted: 160

A.14. Estimates of Cost to the Federal Government

Deleted: $8,720

The total cost to the federal government for the administration of the 2027 NAEP data collections (i.e.,
contract costs plus NCES salaries and expenses) is estimated to be $41,039,668. The table below represents
the 2027 assessment cost estimates as of July 2026.

Deleted: 724

NCES salaries and expenses
Contract costs
Scoring
Item Development
Sampling and Weighting
Data Collection (including materials distribution)
Recruitment and State Support
Design, Analysis, and Reporting
Securing and Transferring DBA Assessment Data
NAEP System Development

Deleted: $208,099

$700,150
$40,339,518
$1,903,027
$5,220,684
$1,572,256
$11,628,274
$1,153,244
$2,034,444
$794,321
$16,033,268

Deleted: 10,790
Deleted: 09,411
Deleted: s
Deleted: 39,150,661
Deleted: November
Deleted: 5
Deleted: 175,038
Deleted: 38,975,623
Deleted: 863
Deleted: 48
Deleted: 915

A.15. Reasons for Changes in Burden and Budget (from last Clearance submittal)
This Amendment reflects slight updates to the NAEP 2027 Clearance package burden and budget. Minor
shifts in schools expected to participate in School Device Model versus NAEP Device Model, as well as
percentages of schools who will need an additional staff member to support the assessment, resulted in an
increase in burden hours from the initial Clearance package (10,790 hours) compared to this Amendment
(10,892 hours).
In addition, the costs to the Federal Government have increased by $1,889,007 from the initial Clearance
package.

2 The average hourly earnings of teachers and principals, derived from May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupation Employment

Statistics, is $34.64 for teachers and school staff and $55.82 for principals. If mean hourly wage was not provided, it was computed assuming
2,080 hours per year. The exception is the student wage, which is based on the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Source: BLS
Occupation Employment Statistics, http://data.bls.gov/oes/ datatype: Occupation codes: Middle School Teachers, Except Special and
Career/Technical Education (SOC code 25-2022); Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary (SOC code 11-9032); last
modified date May 2024.

Deleted: 14,732,714

Deleted:

Deleted: slightly
Deleted: 1,,

Deleted: 4
Deleted: 33
Deleted: 7
Deleted: 4
Deleted: 50

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Sibley, Courtney

6/25/2026 11:20:00 AM