The Nation's Report Card: Mathematics 2005 Performance in Puerto Rico— Focus on the Content

March 2007

Authors: Gloria S. Dion, Jeff G. Haberstroh, and Amy R. Dresher

Download sections of the report (or the complete report) in a PDF file for viewing and printing.

Executive Summary

In 2005, public school students in Puerto Rico at grades 4 and 8 participated in a Spanish-language version of the National Assessment of Educational Progress in mathematics for the second time. Approximately 3,000 students in 100 public schools were assessed at each grade. Puerto Rico also participated in NAEP in 2003, but because changes were implemented for the 2005 administration, results for the two years cannot be compared.

Performance is summarized across the entire NAEP mathematics assessment and for five content areas on a 0–500 scale. Average scores for students in Puerto Rico at grades 4 and 8 for 2005 are presented in figures 1 and 2. Averages for public school students in the nation (excluding Puerto Rico) are shown for comparison. Because the scales were developed separately for each content area within each grade, direct comparisons should not be made between the average scores for the content areas. Question-level results presented in the report provide specific examples of student performance within each of the five areas. For each sample question, the percentage of correct responses is reported for Puerto Rico and the nation.

At grade 4, students in Puerto Rico scored lower, on average, than students in the nation overall and within each content area. There was no significant difference between the performance of male and female students in Puerto Rico overall. Female students in Puerto Rico scored higher than male students in geometry, but there was no difference between the performance of male and female students in the other content areas.

Students in Puerto Rico also scored lower at grade 8 than students in the nation overall and within each content area. There was no significant difference between the performance of male and female students in Puerto Rico overall. Female students in Puerto Rico scored higher than male students in the data analysis and probability content area, but there was no difference between the performance of male and female students in the other content areas.

Figure 1.  Average fourth-grade NAEP mathematics scores in 2005, by content area

Figure 2.  Average eighth-grade NAEP mathematics scores in 2005, by content area

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2005 Mathematics Assessment.

Back to Top

Download sections of the report (or the complete report) in a PDF file for viewing and printing:

•  PDF 1 of 2 contains:
  Contents
  Executive Summary
  The Mathematics Assessment
  Number Properties and Operations
  Measurement
  -also includes front matter
  (629K PDF)
  
  
•  PDF 2 of 2 contains:
  Geometry
  Data Analysis and Probability
  Algebra
  Technical Notes and Data Appendix
  (818K PDF)
  
  
•  The complete PDF of The Nation’s Report Card: Mathematics 2005 Performance
  in Puerto Rico—Focus on the Content Areas (1393K PDF)

NCES 2007-460 Ordering information

Suggested Citation
Dion, G.S., Haberstroh, J.G.,Dresher, A.R. (2007).The Nation’s Report Card: Mathematics 2005 Performance in Puerto Rico—Focus on the Content Areas (NCES 2007–460). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

For more information, see the results of the 2005 Mathematics Performance in Puerto Rico on the Nation's Report Card website.

Back to Top

---

Last updated 22 March 2007 (RF)