In 2002, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) voluntarily participated in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA). NAEP, known as the Nation’s Report Card, is the nation’s only federally authorized survey of student achievement in various subject areas. NAEP is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), an agency within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences.

The 2002 TUDA marked the initial benchmark administration of the reading and writing assessments. The following six urban districts participated: Atlanta Public Schools, Chicago Public Schools, Houston Independent School District, Los Angeles Unified School District, New York City Public Schools, and the District of Columbia Public Schools.

In 2003, the second administration of the reading assessment and the initial benchmark administration of the mathematics assessment for the TUDA was given to 10 districts. These districts were Atlanta Public Schools, Boston Public Schools, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Chicago Public Schools, Cleveland Municipal School District, Houston Independent School District, Los Angeles Unified School District, New York City Public Schools, San Diego City Schools, and the District of Columbia Public Schools.

In 2009, the number of TUDA districts that participate in NAEP assessments increased to 18. The districts added were Austin Independent School District, Baltimore City Public Schools, Detroit Public Schools, Fresno Unified School District, Jefferson County Public Schools, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Milwaukee Public Schools, and The School District of Philadelphia.