NAEP Studies SIG Outstanding Paper Award

Starting in 2022, the AERA NAEP Studies SIG puts out a call for nominations for their Outstanding Paper Award.  This award recognizes papers of exemplary conceptual, methodological, analytic, and writing quality that draw on NAEP data to advance education research or inform policy development.  Papers could be published in either refereed and non-refereed sources.  The committee will consider the strength of a paper as it relates to the overarching NAEP Studies SIG call for focused attention on persistent issues of urgent concern to the field, such as improvement in measurement and understanding of noncognitive skills, better understanding of contextual factors explaining achievement disparities, and impacts of policy on educational achievement and growth.

Eligibility Criteria.  Eligible papers include scholarly or professional journal articles, published reports, or conference proceedings.  Special consideration will be given to work that uses NAEP data in original ways.  Exemplary papers will make connections to researchers, practitioners, and policymakers explicit.

A paper may be submitted for consideration for this award only once. In order to give more authors an opportunity to have their research recognized, only one submission per person will be considered during one submission cycle.  A paper can be nominated for an award within only one AERA division or SIG.  Nominations are encouraged from both domestic and international scholars.  Nominations may be submitted by the author (self-nomination) or by anyone familiar with the work of the author.

Membership in AERA and the SIG is not required to be nominated or to be a recipient of an award.  AERA, Division, and SIG membership should not be used as an evaluative criterion in judging the quality of award submissions and nominations.

Nomination Process.  Completed nominations should include a letter of nomination and the following supporting materials:

• A brief summary of the nominated paper (8 sentences or less) and an explanation of the relevance, importance, and originality of the work in advancing educational measurement and/or informing public policy; 
• A copy of the paper, including complete bibliographic information;
• A copy of the Table of Contents of the journal or other peer reviewed research paper in which the paper appeared OR an acceptance letter from the journal editor(s) if it is currently in press;
• A current CV for the nominee(s), which may include academics, doctoral students, and other educational research professionals;
• A statement from the nominee(s) that they will plan to attend the annual Business meeting if they are selected to receive the award; and 
• Testament from the nominee(s) that they have no knowledge of conduct that would preclude a nominee from being honored as an awardee as set forth in the AERA Code of Ethics by stating one of the following:
  • If this is a self-nomination:  I acknowledge that my professional conduct adheres to the highest standards, including with respect to nondiscrimination, non-exploitation, and harassment in accordance with the AERA Code of Ethics.
  • If you are nominating someone other than yourself:  I know of no conduct by the nominee(s) that does not meet the standards set forth in the AERA Code of Ethics, including with respect to nondiscrimination, non-exploitation, and harassment.

The SIG will put out the call for nominations during the fall.  The winning publication will be recognized at the NAEP Studies SIG Business Meeting at the following AERA annual conference.