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News Tip: Expert Available to Comment on NAEP Results

A report by the National Assessment of Educational Progress released today shows little change in the performance of high school seniors since the last 2009 report.

Kristen StephensAssociate professor of the practice, Duke University Program in Educationkstephens@duke.eduhttp://tinyurl.com/nas3df6

Stephens' research focus is on educational policy and assessment. She is the director of North Carolina Association for the Gifted and Talented. 

Quote:"The highly publicized results of the NAEP, an assessment focusing solely on math and reading, has been a key contributor to the narrowing of our curriculum in public schools. If student gains are seen since the last administration of this assessment, 'reformers' will likely attribute these gains to the implementation of recent policy changes. i.e., the Common Core curriculum."

"As prior releases of this assessment's results have revealed, 'reformers' will control the narrative that is communicated to the public and spin the resulting data to their liking. I believe there is an overemphasis on this assessment and its perceived importance in helping the public evaluate the progress of our public schools."

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Duke experts on a variety of other topics can be found at http://newsoffice.duke.edu/resources-media/faculty-experts.