In October 2024, the NAEP Validity Studies (NVS) panel published An Exploration of Opportunity to Learn and Implications for NAEP, a white paper co-authored by Sheila W. Valencia, James W. Pellegrino, and Richard P. Durán. The white paper explores the relationship between opportunity to learn and the interpretation of NAEP results as well as how the concept and indicators of opportunity to learn could be expanded upon to include more recent thinking around social contexts for learning in the classroom.

According to the authors, opportunity to learn (OTL) is not clearly defined or specifically reported on in NAEP documents and publications, but it is partially targeted by background questionnaires intended to provide some context for the interpretation of NAEP results. Some example indicators of OTL covered by these questionnaires include classroom resources, teacher quality, content coverage, and classroom organization; in this way, OTL is measured by some of the contextual factors that come together to create success in education. This white paper focuses on other OTL variables within the classroom, drawing on research on the “complex social, cognitive, and cultural nature of instruction and learning” to contextualize student achievement and consider how survey questions, data-gathering strategies, and special studies may be updated and made more relevant to changing classroom environments and concerns. This is particularly important for identifying and understanding disparities in access to quality learning experiences among students from different “social, ethnic, racial, gender, socioeconomic, language, and disability groups.” These issues around equity and quality of instruction in schools are central to the work of the NVS panel.

NVS is an independent panel of experts contracted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to study the validity of all aspects of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), including assessment development, data collection and analysis, and reporting and data use. Since its formation in 1995, the panel has identified and explored a range of technical concerns and promising techniques relevant to NAEP, especially as technological innovations—such as digitally based assessments—push testing forward and invite new research. This white paper is one of many research products produced by NVS over nearly 30 years of research on NAEP validity.

Additional detail on the role of the NVS panel and a complete list of research products can be found here. To stay informed about NVS activities, subscribe to their mailing list here.