Released by the National Association for Educational Progress (NAEP), the National Indian Education Study (NIES) 2015 is designed to describe the condition of education for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students in the U.S. The study provides educators, policymakers, and the public with information about the academic performance in reading and mathematics of AI/AN fourth and eighth graders as well as their exposure to Native American culture.
The survey clearly indicates that schools managed by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) excel in teaching Native Americans about their langauges and cultures.
For the first time, the NIES 2015 student survey questionnaires included questions about the knowledge AI/AN students had of their families’ Native cultures, the role AI/AN languages played in their lives, and their involvement in Native cultural
ceremonies and gatherings in the community. The students’ responses to these questions provide some insight into their sense of identity as citizens of their AI/AN tribes.
