The NAEP mathematics assessment results present a broad view of what America’s students know and can do in mathematics. The assessment was developed and reviewed by a committee of mathematics and measurement experts to capture the goals of the mathematics framework. The National Assessment Governing Board, through a comprehensive national process involving mathematics teachers, researchers, measurement experts, policymakers, and members of the general public, created the framework, which describes the goals of the assessment and what kinds of exercises it ought to feature. The Mathematics Development Committee was instrumental in the development of the assessment.

Questions at grades 4 and 8 were based on the following five content areas: number properties and operations, measurement, geometry, data analysis and probability, and algebra. At grade 12, the content areas of measurement and geometry were combined (see "What Does the NAEP Mathematics Assessment Measure" for further information).

The assessment consisted of both multiple-choice and constructed-response questions. Short constructed-response questions required students to provide answers to computation problems or to describe solutions in one or two sentences. Extended constructed-response questions required students to give longer responses when answering the questions.

Look at a more detailed distribution of questions in the assessment.