This report discusses five issue areas in which it is believed substantial improvements in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) might be achieved. The unifying themes among these issues are to increase the visibility of NAEP, its relevance to policymakers, and its utility to state and local agencies. The first of five substantive chapters deals with the critical need for an overall framework for NAEP objectives. The second chapter deals with the design of test administration and focuses on the costs and benefits of a unified, integrated assessment given each year. The next chapter indicates that exercises are the wrong unit of analysis for NAEP and compares latent trait and latent class approaches to the development of meaning in assessment, pointing out the special applicability of the latent class analysis for achievement indices. The fourth chapter reviews existing studies of computer-based testing, seeks out predictions of future technological advances, and proposes a gradual series of studies aimed at the ultimate infusion of computer-administered tests throughout NAEP. In the final chapter, a concept and plan are described for an Educational Assessment Institute. Primary type of information provided by report: Program Description (Operating Policies); Procedures (Conceptual). (Author/PN)