SHS will represent schools across the nation by participating in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) that will be given on Feb. 4.

NAEP is the largest nationally represented assessment of students across the country and is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. At SHS, 44 students have been selected randomly to participate, according to SHS principal Ms. Barbara Brouwer.

“I am so happy that I will represent our school through this NAEP testing, although I don’t know what’s the test going to be and I don’t know if its going to be a hard test or not,” senior Bawi Chawn said.

Students will answer questions in mathematics, reading or science on a Microsoft tablet provided by NAEP. It will take about two hours for most students to complete the assessment, according to Brouwer.

Student performance on the NAEP assessment will not impact students’ school grades and the information provided will be used for statistical purposes only.

In 2013, Indiana had a 98 percent student participation rate in the 4th and 8th grades, according to Brouwer. In addition to this, Indiana students have shown significant gains in mathematics and reading since 2011.

The assessment is not required to finish and students may skip any test question or may be excused from participation for any reason. According to Ms. Brouwer, there is no need to study in preparation for NAEP but asked parents to encourage their children to do their best and to get plenty of rest the night before the assessment.