The purpose of this book is to evaluate a new approach to the analysis and reporting of the large-scale surveys for the National Assessment of Educational Progress carried out for the National Center for Education Statistics. The need for a new approach was driven by the demands for secondary analysisof the survey data by researchers who needed analyses more detailed than those published by NCES, and the need to  accelerate the processing and publication of results from the surveys.

This new approach is based on a full multilevel statistical and psychometric model for students responses to the test items, taking into account the design of the survey, the backgrounds of the students, and the classes, schools and communities in which the students were located. The authors detail a fully integrated single model that incorporates both the survey design and the psychometric model by extending the traditional form of the psychometric model to accommodate the design structure while allowing for student, teacher, and school covariates.

Theories of Data Analysis and Statistical Inference.- The Current Design and Analysis.- Psychometric and Survey Models.- Technical Reports Data Analyses and Simulation Studies.- 1986 NAEP Math Survey.- Analysis of All 1986Math Iems.- 2005 NAEP Math Survey Texas.- 2005 NAEP Math Survey California.- Conclusions.- 1986 Survey Results, 30 Item Subscale.- 1986 Survey Results, Full 79 Items.- Model Parameter Estimates and SEs, 2005 Texas Survey.- Model Parameter Estimates and SEs, 2005 California survey.