Studies IDENTIFIERS *National Assessment of Educational Progress

Viewed as a first step in the development of a consensus framework for the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in civic education, this paper focuses on the major questions that should be considered in designing a civics assessment. The paper aims to bring major questions of designing a civic education assessment tool to the attention of educators, policymakers, researchers, and the public so that they can discuss the issues and contribute to the development of the NAEP framework in civics. The framework will develop recommendations for civics knowledge for students in grades 4, 8, and 12 should know and be able to do in the area of civics. The issues identified in the paper range from an analysis of the evidence that a civics assessment is necessary to the design of the NAEP instrument. The paper concludes with a 56-item reference list. (TSV) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document