The key federal test of students’ progress in elementary and secondary schools offers “a distorted picture of achievement” and fails to fully examine how well schools prepare students for adult life, says a report commissioned by the Campaign for Educational Equity at Teachers College of Columbia University.

The report, posted online today, argues that the National Assessment of Educational Progress focuses too narrowly on basic academic and critical thinking skills in measuring how well students are being educated. Moreover, the report says, the federal benchmarking test fails to gauge the long-term impact of education because it does not look at whether adults who were educated at elementary and secondary schools do things such as vote, read independently, or stay in shape physically.

The report calls for the federal assessment to expand its scope in Washington and 36 states with high concentrations of disadvantaged young people to look at eight broad areas: social skills and work ethic; readiness for citizenship and community responsibility; preparation for lifelong physical health; preparation for lifelong emotional health; appreciation of the arts and literature; and (for those not destined for college) preparation for lifelong work.

“With NAEP so redesigned, states may be inspired to hold schools and school districts accountable for the broader range of outcomes that Americans want from their schools and other institutions of youth development,” the report says.

The authors of the report are Richard Rothstein, a research associate at the Economic Policy Institute; Rebecca Jacobsen, an assistant professor of education at Michigan State University; and Tamara Wilder, a doctoral student in Teachers College’s department of organization and leadership. —Peter Schmidt