The 21st century will require knowledge and skill well beyond the basic levels of reading and arithmetic that American schools know how to produce more or less reliably. Delivering a "thinking curriculum" to all American students requires major reform in the ways schools and districts organize their work. The transformation of the…

James A. Hazlett, NAEP Administrative Director, discusses the National Assessment program as an accountability tool. The strengths and weaknesses of the program as an evaluative method in the cognitive areas are discussed at length. (MPJ) Aspect of National Assessment (NAEP) dealt with in this document: Program Description (Historical Background).

With the view that social scientists conduct too little exploratory research, the author outlines the methods and attitudes of the exploratory analyst and describes the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) as a source of research data. Exploratory analysis, in which no paradigm is used, is contrasted with confirmatory research, which…