This website is compatible with Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 6 or higher) and Mozilla Firefox (version 1.5 or higher). Earlier versions will work for most of the site but may cause occasional problems with their appearance. To download the latest version of Internet Explorer, visit the Microsoft website and to download the latest version of Mozilla Firefox, visit the Firefox website.
In addition, the following plug-ins (detailed below) may be required for viewing certain multimedia or document files on the site:
The majority of the pages on this site are designed to be viewable without horizontal scrolling when using a 800 x 600 screen resolution. Occasionally, you may come across a data table or some other content where this has been impossible to assure, in which case, change your screen resolution to 1024 x 768 or higher. This is easily done on your individual computer by going to "Control Panel" and selecting "Display." Within display, go to the the "Settings" tab and choose the screen resolution you would like.
If you feel the font size on the web page you are viewing is too small, you need to adjust the text size with your own browser settings. If you are using Internet Explorer or Firefox, go to the "View" menu in the browser and choose "Text Size." This enables you to change the font size. Common browsers for Apple and Linux have the same options.
Many NAEP reports and documents are made available on this website in Portable Document Format (PDF). PDF is used because this format maintains the original look and feel of large documents, and allows us to place more publications on the web in a quick and efficient manner. Further, PDF products are independent of platforms, applications, and distribution media.
Viewing PDF files requires Acrobat Reader, either as standalone software or as a browser plug-in. Free versions of Acrobat Reader exist for all major computer platforms, including Windows, Macintosh, Sun, UNIX and several other operating systems. Please follow the instructions on the Adobe Acrobat download page to install Acrobat Reader.
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is a W3C recommendation (web standard) for a graphics file format and web development language based on XML. Through the use of SVG, NAEP is able to offer dynamically generated, high-quality, scalable, interactive graphics from real-time data. Although many SVG viewers are available, NAEP recommends the Adobe SVG Viewer 3.0 (or above) as a stable, well-supported viewer. Visit Adobe's SVG Zone for more information and to download a free viewer.
You can easily cut and paste any of the SVG images into software packages such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint or Excel. To do this, right click on the SVG image and select "Copy SVG." Then go to your desired application and select "Edit/Paste Special" and select "Bitmap" or "Device Independent Bitmap."
The NAEP Data Explorer tutorial includes information on how to best use SVG graphics in your day-to-day work. See particularly the lessons titled Obtain Graphics and Create Map Graphic.
For more information on the SVG standard, or to get a list of available viewers, visit the W3C's official overview of the Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) format. To edit SVG images (for instance, to change the size or get better resolution), you can use a program that recognizes the SVG format.
Many pages on this website feature audio and video. While video requires the use of QuickTime Player version 3 or later, audio can be played using both the QuickTime Player or Windows Media Player.
NAEP also presents certain material in the form of Flash animations. In order to view these animations, you will need to install the Adobe Flash Player, version 5 or higher. Refer to Adobe's Flash support center for assistance in working with the Flash Player.
Microsoft Word Viewer 2003 lets you open Word 2003 documents and documents created with all previous versions of Microsoft Word for Windows® and Microsoft Word for Macintosh. In addition to Word files, you can also open files saved in many other formats. With Word Viewer 2003, you can view, print, and copy documents to another program. However, you cannot edit an open document, save a document, or create a new document. Visit the Microsoft Word Viewer site to download and install the Word Viewer for Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 and Windows XP.
With Excel Viewer 2003, you can open, view, and print Excel workbooks, even if you don't have Excel installed. You can also copy data from Excel Viewer 2003 to another program. However, you cannot edit data, save a workbook, or create a new workbook. Visit the Microsoft Excel Viewer site to download and install the Excel Viewer for Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 and Windows XP.
This download is for users who don't have Microsoft PowerPoint®; the PowerPoint Viewer 2003 allows people who use PowerPoint to share their presentations with people who do not have PowerPoint installed on their computers for versions Powerpoint 97 and later. You can use this viewer to view files created in both PowerPoint for Windows® and PowerPoint for the Macintosh. You can view and print presentations, but you cannot edit them in the PowerPoint Viewer. Visit the Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer site to download and install the PowerPoint Viewer for Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows ME, Windows 2000 Service Pack 3, and Windows XP.
If you're trying to print a page with color or shading behind the text, and the colors aren't showing on the printed page, check your browser settings to ensure that background colors are enabled during printing.
Internet Explorer:
Mozilla Firefox:
