Question:
What are the long-term trends in student achievement in reading and mathematics?
Response:
Long-term trend data have shown improvements in achievement in a number of areas. The average reading score at age 9 was higher in 2004 than in any previous assessment year. The average score at age 13 was higher in 2004 than in 1971, but not measurably different from the average score in 1999. Between 1999 and 2004, average reading scores at age 17 showed no measurable changes. The average score for 17-year-olds in 2004 was similar to that in 1971. Significant gaps in performance continue to exist between racial/ethnic subgroups. All reading score differences show female students scored higher on average than their male counterparts in 2004. The gender gap at age 9 decreased from 1971 to 2004. In contrast, there has been no measurable change in the score gap at age 13 between 2004 and any previous assessment year. For 17-year-olds, the score gap in 2004 was larger than the gaps in 1988 and 1980, but showed no measurable difference from the gaps in other assessment years.
Results from the long-term trend NAEP of mathematics achievement indicate a significant improvement at ages 9 and 13 between 1973 and 2004, but not for age 17. At 241, the average score at age 9 was higher in 2004 than in any previous year—up 9 points from 1999 and 22 points from 1973. At age 13, the average score in 2004 was higher than in any other assessment year. The 5-point increase between 1999 and 2004 resulted in an average score in 2004 that was 15 points higher than the average score in 1973. The average score at age 17 was not measurably different from the average score in 1973 or 1999. The apparent difference in average mathematics scores at age 9 between male and female students in 2004 was not statistically significant, while the change in the gender score gap between 1973 and 2004 was statistically significant. Males had higher average scores than females at ages 13 and 17. The gender score gaps for 13- and 17-year-olds were measurably different between 1973 and 2004.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2006). Digest of Education Statistics, 2005 (NCES 2006-030), Chapter 2.
Related Tables and Figures: (Listed by Release Date)
- 2006, Digest of Education Statistics 2005, Table 108.
Average reading scale score, by age and selected student and school characteristics: Selected years, 1971 through 2004
- 2006, Digest of Education Statistics 2005, Table 109. Student scale score in reading, by age and percentile: Selected years, 1971 through 2004
- 2006, Digest of Education Statistics 2005, Table 110. Average reading scale score, by age and amount of time spent on reading and homework: Selected years, 1984 through 2004
- 2006, Digest of Education Statistics 2005, Table 111. Percentage of students at or above selected reading score levels, by age, sex, and race/ethnicity: Selected years, 1971 through 2004
- 2006, Digest of Education Statistics 2005, Table 114. Percentage of students at or above selected writing proficiency levels, by grade level and selected student characteristics: 2002
- 2006, Digest of Education Statistics 2005, Table 115. Percentage of students at or above selected U.S. history proficiency levels, by grade level and selected student characteristics: 2001
- 2006, Digest of Education Statistics 2005, Table 116.
Average student scale score in geography and U.S. history, by grade level and selected student characteristics: 2001
- 2006, Digest of Education Statistics 2005, Table 117.
Percentage of students at or above selected geography proficiency levels, by grade level and selected student characteristics: 2001
- 2006, Digest of Education Statistics 2005, Table 118.
Average mathematics scale score, by age and selected student and school characteristics: Selected years, 1973 to 2004
- 2006, Digest of Education Statistics 2005, Table 119.
Percentage of students at or above selected mathematics proficiency levels, by age, sex, and race/ethnicity: Selected years, 1978 through 2004
- 2006, Digest of Education Statistics 2005, Table 120.
Mathematics performance of 17-year-olds, by highest mathematics course taken, sex, and race/ethnicity: Selected years, 1978 through 2004
- 2006, Digest of Education Statistics 2005, Table 124.
Average scale score in science for 8th-graders in public schools, by selected student characteristics, region, and state: 1996 and 2000
- 2006, Digest of Education Statistics 2005, Table 125.
Average arts scale score of 8th-grade students, by topic and selected student characteristics: 1997
- 2006, The Condition of Education 2006: Mathematics Performance of Students in Grades 4 and 8
- 2006, The Condition of Education 2006: Poverty and Student Mathematics Achievement
- 2005, The Condition of Education 2005: Children's Skills and Proficiency in Reading and Mathematics through Grade 3
- 2005, The Condition of Education 2005: Student Reading and Mathematics Performance in Public Schools by Urbanicity
- 2004, The Condition of Education 2004: Students’ Reading and Mathematics Achievement Through 3rd Grade
- 2004, The Condition of Education 2004: Writing Performance of Students in Grades 4, 8, and 12
- 2003, The Condition of Education 2003: Geography Performance of Students in Grades 4, 8, and 12
- 2003, The Condition of Education 2003: U.S. History Performance of Students in Grades 4, 8, and 12
Other Resources: (Listed by Release Date)
- 2005, Long-term Trend NAEP
- 2005, NAEP 2004 Trends in Academic Progress Three Decades of Student Performance in Reading and Mathematics: Findings in Brief
- 2005, The Nation's Report Card: Reading 2005
- 2005, The Nation’s Report Card: Mathematics 2005
- 2003, The Nation's Report Card: Science 2000
- 2003, The Nation's Report Card: Writing 2002
- 2002, The Nation's Report Card: Geography 2001
- 2002, The Nation's Report Card: U.S. History 2001
- 2001, Student Subgroup Achievement on the NAEP 1997 Arts Assessment
- 2001, The Next Generation of Citizens: NAEP Civics Assessments--1988 and 1998
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