ESSA requires testing in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
NAEP better known as "Nation's Report Card” is the only national perspective on American education. NAEP is a congressionally mandated project overseen by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to monitor knowledge, skill, and performance of the nation's children and youth over time. NAEP measures and reports on a regular basis what America's students know and can do in core subjects like reading, mathematics, writing, and science.
From 1969 through 2002, participation in NAEP was voluntary. As of the 2003 administration, participation in mathematics and reading at grades 4 and 8 became a requirement in all states and school districts receiving Title I funding. With over a decade of trend in these grades/subjects, the biennial NAEP state-level administration is a vital data collection for Montana and it helps inform policymakers of what Montana students know and can do in these various subjects/grades.