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About the Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA)The TUDA program began in 2002 with six urban districts participating in the NAEP reading and writing assessments. In 2009, 18 districts participated in mathematics, reading, and science. Twenty-one districts participated in 2011 and are participating in 2013. See a table of all TUDA districts. See District Profiles for results, comparisons, and more. |
On this page, you will find introductory information about TUDA in the sections below. Report Cards, with more details, are on the Nation's Report Card website as noted in Where to Find TUDA Results, below.
NAEP provides an essential measurement of student achievement in the United States. In mathematics, reading, science, and writing, student achievement is reported for selected urban districts as well as for the nation and the states.
The assessments administered in TUDA are exactly the same as those given nationally in main NAEP, using identical administration procedures. The assessments follow the subject area frameworks developed by the Governing Board. Like the national and state main assessments, TUDA does not provide individual scores for the students or schools assessed.
TUDA districts can monitor their progress over time in the selected subject areas at grades 4 and 8. In addition to comparing to the national public results, TUDA district results are also compared to results from large cities nationwide.
Results for TUDA are generally released several weeks after the state and national results. The most recent TUDA results in mathematics, reading, writing, and science are on The Nation's Report Card website.
Also on the Nation's Report Card website, the Trial Urban District Assessment home page provides links toDistrict results can be explored in District Profiles, the NAEP Data Explorer and in the NAEP Questions Tool.
In 2001, after discussion among the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the National Assessment Governing Board (Governing Board), and the Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS), Congress appropriated funds for a district‐level NAEP assessment on a trial basis. A primary goal of TUDA is to focus attention on urban education.
In collaboration with NCES and CGCS, the Governing Board invites districts that meet certain selection criteria to volunteer to participate in TUDA. Selection criteria relate to
Specific eligibility criteria and selection procedures 
(36 KB) are on the Governing Board website.
In 2002, TUDA began with assessments in reading and writing. In 2003, TUDA continued with reading and mathematics assessments and in 2005 with reading, mathematics, and science assessments. Eleven large urban school districts participated in 2005 and 2007. For 2009, 18 districts were invited by the Governing Board to participate in mathematics, reading and science TUDA assessments at grades 4 and 8. In the 2011 NAEP assessments in mathematics and reading, 21 districts participated, and these same districts are participating again in 2013.
School and Student Participation in TUDA
The sample of schools drawn for the TUDA assessment is representative of all students in the district. From each sampled school, a random sample of students is selected. The sample of students in the participating TUDA school districts is an extension of the sample of students who would usually be selected by NAEP as part of state and national samples. These extended samples allow reliable reporting of student groups within these districts. Results for students in the TUDA samples are also included in state and national samples with appropriate weighting.
The numbers of students assessed vary across the districts. Students with disabilities and English language learners are included in the assessments as much as possible, and the most commonly used accommodations are always provided.
