Challenge:

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the largest ongoing nationally representative measure of what U.S. students know in key subjects like reading, mathematics, and science. When “No Child Left Behind” legislation tied states’ participation in NAEP to federal funding, NAEP’s environment changed radically. At this critical juncture, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which administers NAEP, turned to Hager Sharp for a communications strategy and range of services.

Approach:

Hager Sharp rebranded NAEP, building on existing brand equity by using the term many already applied to it: “The Nation’s Report Card.” Working with other NAEP contractors, we polished reports, ensuring that complex statistical data was made more accessible to the media, policymakers, and lay audience. We provided communications support and training to a national network of NAEP state coordinators, managed an exhibit schedule with more than a dozen education professional conferences annually, and organized briefings, releases, and webinars.

Results:

Through effective collaboration between NCES and Hager Sharp, the team has made great strides in raising voluntary participation (up 13 percent in high school), understanding, and awareness of NAEP. By building brand equity nationally and in states, we have helped raise NAEP’s profile, increased the frequency of citations by both the media and by policymakers—and made it an even more crucial part of the education dialogue.