institute
of desiGn
Search
Faculty

ID Partners to Evolve the Nation’s Report Card

Applying Our Human-Centered, Systems Design Approach to Modernize the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

February 9, 2026

The Institute of Design at Illinois Tech is honored to partner with the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) on Next Gen NAEP—an initiative to modernize the Nation’s Report Card.

“
The Nation’s Report Card is widely considered the gold standard in assessments. It is to education leaders what the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is to economists. But, like the CPI, it is complex and hard to change, even when that change is a sign of progress. To modernize thoughtfully, we need to prototype and evaluate potential solutions.
—Lesley Muldoon, Executive Director, National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB)
National Assessment of Education Progress logomark

The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) is an independent, nonpartisan panel created by Congress to set policy for the Nation’s Report Card, which provides information about student learning for the nation, every state, and 20+ urban districts, with trendlines going back 30+ years.

ID will use its human-centered, systems design approach to help modernize how we understand student learning across the US. Through collaborative design sprints, rapid prototyping, and iterative testing with real users, ID faculty Jeremy Alexis, Anijo Mathew, Zach Pino, and Ruth Schmidt will bring together policymakers, educators, researchers, and assessment experts to explore how technology and AI can deliver faster insights, modernize infrastructure, and make data more accessible—all while maintaining the program’s gold-standard quality.

Portrait of Jeremy Alexis

Jeremy Alexis, Vice Provost for Academic Strategy and Associate Professor of Innovation

Portrait of Anijo Mathew, Dean of the Institute of Design in Chicago, standing in a bright green room.

Anijo Mathew, Dean and Professor of Entrepreneurship & Urban Technology

Portrait of Zach Pino

Zach Pino, Assistant Professor of Data-Driven Design

Portrait of Ruth Schmidt

Ruth Schmidt, Associate Professor of Behavioral Design

What these stakeholders discover together can serve not just this initiative, but assessment programs nationwide facing similar challenges of modernization and scale. The initiative will produce an actionable roadmap for NAGB and NCES to guide future policymaking, as well as public reports sharing lessons learned for the broader field.

“
For more than 85 years, ID has focused on the kind of challenges that shape the lives of our children—and their children. Evolving the Nation’s Report Card is the kind of work that echoes forward for generations. We can't wait to get started.
—Anijo Mathew, Dean, Institute of Design (ID) at Illinois Tech

Related

Ruth Schmidt’s Research Featured in First UNESCO Open Science Outlook Report

Transforming Educational Decision-Making

Deutsche Welle Explores How Bauhaus Principles Live On at ID