Some troubling news via the Hechinger Report for the brave few still following the story of ETS and its involvement in the NAEP. Jill Barshay reports that:
“The contractor building this platform, ETS, gave DOGE a demonstration of its features last week. But according to former education officials, DOGE staffers are seeking additional places to cut costs and were less than impressed.
The digital platform is also needed to complete behind-the-scenes paperwork for states to participate in the 2026 assessment. Those steps are supposed to be completed in May. As it stands now, funding for the digital platform runs out again in June.”
And:
“…funding ran out on March 31 for an even more critical task: the creation of the NAEP exams, according to four people who had direct knowledge of this paused contract. That “content development” work is carried out by ETS, and the nonprofit testing organization told its employees who oversee the writing and review of NAEP test questions to take a leave until funding resumes.”