For any successful journey, you need a clear destination and tools to chart your progress. Adjustments along the way are often necessary to stay on course. This is true of America’s journey toward educational excellence, particularly when focusing on the future of education for disabled students. A reliable and valid assessment of student achievement  — the National Assessment of Educational Progress — has been a valuable compass for helping policymakers, researchers and school leaders alike navigate the path forward and, critically, drive improvements for students with disabilities.

The need for a reliable compass is greater now more than ever before. Significant budget cuts and efforts to weaken the Department of Education call into question the federal government’s role in ensuring educational excellence. As policy and research leaders at the National Center for Learning Disabilities, an organization with nearly 50 years of experience advocating for the rights of individuals with learning disabilities, we fear the country may be entering an era in which we will be navigating this path without a reliable compass.

NAEP, often referred to as the “Nation’s Report Card,” is the only standard assessment administered to students in all 50 states, allowing Americans to see trends in educational attainment over time. NAEP data is an invaluable indicator for understanding areas of growth and identifying unmet needs for students with learning disabilities. The center publishes NAEP Data Snapshots in reading and math to compare the achievement of students with learning disabilities to that of all young people. Research and experience demonstrate that students with learning disabilities can achieve at the same level as their peers when given the appropriate support. Thus, these NAEP snapshots are a powerful tool for highlighting persistent discrepancies that warrant additional investment and innovation, and celebrating and learning from progress.

Not long ago, substantial numbers of students with disabilities were barred from taking  NAEP. Only 15 years ago, over a third of students with disabilities were excluded from the test-taking sample. In 2009, representatives of the center testified before the National Assessment Governing Board to have students with disabilities included in the assessment. Since then, there has been progress. In 2024, about 89% of students who identified as having disabilities took the reading assessment. Their performance is part of the national conversation about how the nation navigates the journey toward educational excellence and the future of education for disabled students together.

Read the full article about the future of education for disabled students by Laura Stelitano and Nicole Fuller at The 74.