To the Editor:
While cutting rising costs of the National Assessment of Educational Progress may be justified, the Trump administration鈥檚 cancellation of the Long-Term Trend NAEP for 17-year-olds (鈥�Trump Admin. Abruptly Cancels National Exam for High Schoolers,鈥� Feb. 21, 2025) and agency personnel furloughs (鈥�NAEP Chief Peggy Carr Put on Leave by Trump Administration,鈥� Feb. 25, 2025) mustn鈥檛 blind the executive branch to the importance of 鈥渢he nation鈥檚 report card鈥� when it comes to education reform.
The academically rigorous national tests are critical to understanding what does and doesn鈥檛 work in public schools. This year鈥檚 scores clearly highlight that our public schools are failing America鈥檚 students.
Yet, amid falling national scores, NAEP shows that some jurisdictions are succeeding. Students in District of Columbia public schools between 2005 to 2024, raising the district鈥檚 rank among other major cities.
I believe D.C. charter schools played a role in the improvement of NAEP scores for public school students in the district. Competition from charters鈥� growing student enrollment鈥攖oday enrolling nearly half of D.C. public school students鈥攈elped motivate the city to introduce , improving school system accountability and student outcomes. D.C. charter networks are especially successful compared with traditional D.C. public schools, according to .
Without NAEP scores, how would schools know where students stand? The administration must preserve NAEP and use its highly respected exams to guide education policy toward more public school choice, accountability, and effective reforms.
Terry Eakin
Board Member
DC Prep Public Charter School
Washington, D.C.
