Question:
How are American students performing in mathematics?
Response:
On the main National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics assessment, gains in average scores seen in earlier years continued from 2007 to 2009 at grade 8 but not at grade 4. At grade 8, the average NAEP mathematics score (reported on a scale of 0 to 500) increased 2 points from 2007 to 2009 and was higher in 2009 than in any previous assessment year. At grade 4, the average score in 2009 was unchanged from the score in 2007 but still higher than the scores in the six assessment years from 1990 to 2005. From 2007 to 2009, no significant score changes occurred at grade 4 for males or females or for any of the racial/ethnic groups. At grade 8, average scores increased from 2007 to 2009 for both male and female students as well as for White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian/Pacific Islander students. For American Indian/Alaska Native 8th-graders, no measurable differences were detected in average scores over the assessment years. Because of major changes to the grade 12 mathematics assessment, results from 2005 and 2009 cannot be compared with results from earlier assessment years. For 12th-graders, the average mathematics score (reported on a scale of 0 to 300) was 3 points higher in 2009 than in 2005. Average scores increased from 2005 to 2009 for both male and female 12th-graders as well as for 12th-graders from all the racial/ethnic groups.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2011). Digest of Education Statistics, 2010 (NCES 2011-015), Chapter 2.
Average mathematics scale score of 4th-, 8th-, and 12th-graders, by selected student characteristics: Selected years, 1990 through 2009 | Selected student characteristic | 19901 | 19921 | 1996 | 2000 | 2003 | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 |
4th-graders, all students | |||||||||
Total | 213 | 220 | 224 | 226 | 235 | 238 | 240 | 240 | |
Sex | |||||||||
Male | 214 | 221 | 224 | 227 | 236 | 239 | 241 | 241 | |
Female | 213 | 219 | 223 | 224 | 233 | 237 | 239 | 239 | |
Race/ethnicity | |||||||||
White | 220 | 227 | 232 | 234 | 243 | 246 | 248 | 248 | |
Black | 188 | 193 | 198 | 203 | 216 | 220 | 222 | 222 | |
Hispanic | 200 | 202 | 207 | 208 | 222 | 226 | 227 | 227 | |
Asian/Pacific Islander | 225 | 231 | 229 | ‡ | 246 | 251 | 253 | 255 | |
American Indian/Alaska Native | ‡ | ‡ | 217 | 208 | 223 | 226 | 228 | 225 | |
8th-graders, all students | |||||||||
Total | 263 | 268 | 270 | 273 | 278 | 279 | 281 | 283 | |
Sex | Male | 263 | 268 | 271 | 274 | 278 | 280 | 282 | 284 |
Female | 262 | 269 | 269 | 272 | 277 | 278 | 280 | 282 | |
Race/ethnicity | |||||||||
White | 270 | 277 | 281 | 284 | 288 | 289 | 291 | 293 | |
Black | 237 | 237 | 240 | 244 | 252 | 255 | 260 | 261 | |
Hispanic | 246 | 249 | 251 | 253 | 259 | 262 | 265 | 266 | |
Asian/Pacific Islander | 275 | 290 | ‡ | 288 | 291 | 295 | 297 | 301 | |
American Indian/Alaska Native | ‡ | ‡ | ‡ | 259 | 263 | 264 | 264 | 266 | |
12th-graders, all students | |||||||||
Total | (2) | (2) | (2) | (2) | — | 150 | — | 153 | |
Sex | Male | (2) | (2) | (2) | (2) | — | 151 | — | 155 |
Female | (2) | (2) | (2) | (2) | — | 149 | — | 152 | |
Race/ethnicity | |||||||||
White | (2) | (2) | (2) | (2) | — | 157 | — | 161 | |
Black | (2) | (2) | (2) | (2) | — | 127 | — | 131 | |
Hispanic | (2) | (2) | (2) | (2) | — | 133 | — | 138 | |
Asian/Pacific Islander | (2) | (2) | (2) | (2) | — | 163 | — | 175 | |
Hispanic | (2) | (2) | (2) | (2) | — | 134 | — | 144 |
‡ Reporting standards not met.
1 Accommodations were not permitted for this assessment.
2 Because of major changes to the framework and content of the grade 12 assessment, scores from 2005 and 2009 cannot be compared with scores from earlier assessment years. Therefore, this table does not include scores from the earlier grade 12 assessment years (1990, 1992, 1996, and 2000).
NOTE: For the grade 4 and grade 8 assessments, scale ranges from 0 to 500. For the grade 12 assessment, scale ranges from 0 to 300. Includes public and private schools. Excludes persons not enrolled in school and students who were unable to be tested due to limited proficiency in English or due to a disability. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2011). Digest of Education Statistics, 2010 (NCES 2011-015), Table 146 .
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