The Nation's Report Card[TM] informs the public about the academic achievement of elementary and secondary students in the United States. Report cards communicate the findings of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of what the nation's students know and can do. NAEP has often been called the "gold standard" of assessments and provides a common measure of student achievement across the country. It reports results for different demographic groups, including gender, socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity. Assessments are given in subjects such as reading, mathematics, science, writing, U.S. history, civics, geography, economics, and the arts. In 2009, NAEP was administered in reading, mathematics, and science at the fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-grade levels. NAEP also conducted its periodic High School Transcript Study (HSTS) in 2009. Undertaken every four years, the HSTS surveys the rigor of curricula being followed at U.S. high schools, as well as the course taking patterns of graduating seniors. This brochure is a compilation of executive summaries from the reports, and includes results for the nation and participating states and districts. (Contains 5 figures and 1 table.)