The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a continuing and nationally representative assessment of what this nation's students know and can do. NAEP has often been called the "gold standard" of assessments because it is developed using the best thinking of assessment and content specialists, education experts, and teachers from around the nation. This paper describes how NAEP assessment is developed, who participates in NAEP, and how the results of NAEP are reported. A list of resources is also included.