NAEP Data Is Critical for Students With Disabilities. It Must Not Disappear

For any successful journey, you need a clear destination and tools to chart your progress. Adjustments along the way are often necessary to stay on course. This is true of America’s journey toward educational excellence. A reliable and valid assessment of student achievement  — the National Assessment of Educational Progress — has been a valuable compass for helping policymakers, researchers and school leaders alike navigate the path forward and, critically, drive improvements for students with disabilities.

The need for a reliable compass is greater now more than ever before. Significant budget cuts and efforts to weaken the Department of Education call into question the federal government’s role in ensuring educational excellence. As policy and research leaders at the National Center for Learning Disabilities, an organization with nearly 50 years of experience advocating for the rights of individuals with learning disabilities, we fear the country may be entering an era in which we will be navigating this path without a reliable compass.

NAEP, often referred to as the “Nation’s Report Card,” is the only standard assessment administered to students in all 50 states, allowing Americans to see trends in educational attainment over time. NAEP data is an invaluable indicator for understanding areas of growth and identifying unmet needs for students with learning disabilities. The center publishes NAEP Data Snapshots in reading and math to compare the achievement of students with learning disabilities to that of all young people. Research and experience demonstrate that students with learning disabilities can achieve at the same level as their peers when given the appropriate support. Thus, these NAEP snapshots are a powerful tool for highlighting persistent discrepancies that warrant additional investment and innovation, and celebrating and learning from progress. 

Not long ago, substantial numbers of students with disabilities were barred from taking  NAEP. Only 15 years ago, over a third of students with disabilities were excluded from the test-taking sample. In 2009, representatives of the center testified before the National Assessment Governing Board to have students with disabilities included in the assessment. Since then, there has been progress. In 2024, about 89% of students who identified as having disabilities took the reading assessment. Their performance is part of the national conversation about how the nation navigates the journey toward educational excellence together.

NAEP also spurs innovation. Technology is changing rapidly, and because students take the exam on the computer, that data can be used in informative and transformative ways. Researchers have used not just the NAEP results, but also information about the testing process to help better understand how students interact with exams. For example, because of this research, it is clear that it isn’t just students with disabilities who use built-in accessibility features like text-to-speech.

In February, NCLD was alarmed to learn that the National Center for Education Statistics, the primary agency responsible for administering NAEP, had been reduced to a staff of three. Both administering the test and disaggregating and reporting the resulting data are critical work requiring expertise and staffing that are now at a skeletal level. Though Education Secretary Linda McMahon has stated that NAEP is safe and will be given as planned in 2026, we have many questions and concerns about its future and the ability of researchers in the field — disability advocates in particular — to use the data as we do now. The president’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2026 proposes a 29% cut to funding for NAEP, which only adds to our concerns about the test’s administration next year.

Policymakers at all levels need reliable data upon which to base their decisions. Researchers need valid and reliable achievement data to understand trends as well as differences in needs across states and student characteristics, including disability status. NAEP allows policymakers to compare their state with others nationwide, encouraging the adoption of best practices and reforms that have worked elsewhere, like Science of Reading-based reforms. At the national level, advocates like us use NAEP results to push for changes in legislation or investments that support students with disabilities.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Yet, today, the federal government continues to underfund both special education and the broader effort to ensure all students, especially those from underserved communities, have the resources and opportunities they need to succeed. 

Educators, researchers, advocates and families committed to disability rights and inclusive education must speak up about the importance of NAEP data. This information has long helped school leaders and policymakers understand where students are excelling and where they are being left behind. Without this insight, funding, accommodations and student resources decrease, and NAEP data becomes a mirror, not a map forward.

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