Two major issues related to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are explored: (1) the roles and responsibilities of federal and state education agencies in reformulating NAEP to facilitate comparisons among states; and (2) problems and solutions in aligning or accounting for differences between national assessment objectives and state and local curricula. It is predicted that NAEP will come to be viewed as a national achievement test and that NAEP objectives will be perceived as a national curriculum. These changes will be the result of using NAEP to make state-by-state comparisons. The importance of curriculum coherence is discussed, in regard to effective instruction and in regard to state comparisons. Four recommendations are made: (1) NAEP should be reorganized to facilitate state comparisons, preserve and enhance curriculum coherence, and encourage improvement in instruction and learning; (2) NAEP objectives should be revised and integrated into state and local curricula in ways which preserve and enhance curriculum coherence; (3) state and local education agencies should reach a consensus on which NAEP objectives should be used for state comparisons; and (4) reports of NAEP results should describe NAEP objectives and the links between results and objectives. (Author/GDC)