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Digest of Education Statistics
2002 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 123. Average mathematics proficiency, by age and by selected characteristics of students: 1973 to 1999

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 Selected characteristics  |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
        of students        | 1973      | 1978      | 1982      | 1986      | 1990      | 1992      | 1994      | 1996      | 1999
___________________________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________
             1             |    2      |  3        |  4        |  5        |  6        |  7        |  8        |    9      |   10
___________________________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________
                           |                              9-year-olds
                           |___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Total .....................|219.0 (0.8)|218.6 (0.8)|219.0 (1.1)|221.7 (1.0)|229.6 (0.8)|229.6 (0.8)|231.1 (0.8)|231.0 (0.8)|232.0 (0.8)
                           |___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________
  Male ....................|218.0 (0.7)|217.4 (0.7)|217.1 (1.2)|221.7 (1.1)|229.1 (0.9)|230.8 (1.0)|232.2 (1.0)|232.9 (1.2)|232.9 (1.0)
  Female ..................|220.0 (1.1)|219.9 (1.0)|220.8 (1.2)|221.7 (1.2)|230.2 (1.1)|228.4 (1.0)|230.0 (0.9)|229.0 (0.7)|231.2 (0.9)
                           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
Race/ethnicity             |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
  White, non-Hispanic .....|225.0 (1.0)|224.1 (0.9)|224.0 (1.1)|226.9 (1.1)|235.2 (0.8)|235.1 (0.8)|236.8 (1.0)|236.9 (1.0)|238.8 (0.9)
  Black, non-Hispanic .....|190.0 (1.8)|192.4 (1.1)|194.9 (1.6)|201.6 (1.6)|208.4 (2.2)|208.0 (2.0)|212.1 (1.6)|211.6 (1.4)|210.9 (1.6)
  Hispanic ................|202.0 (2.4)|202.9 (2.2)|204.0 (1.3)|205.4 (2.1)|213.8 (2.1)|211.9 (2.3)|209.9 (2.3)|214.7 (1.7)|212.9 (1.9)
                           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
Control of school          |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
  Public ..................|  ---  --- |217.2 (0.8)|217.0 (1.1)|220.1 (1.2)|228.6 (0.9)|227.7 (0.9)|229.3 (0.9)|229.7 (0.8)|230.6 (0.9)
  Private .................|  ---  --- |230.5 (1.7)|231.8 (2.1)|230.0 (2.5)|238.1 (2.3)|241.5 (1.7)|244.5 (2.3)|239.1 (2.1)|242.0 (1.9)
                           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
Region                     |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
  Northeast ...............|227.0 (1.9)|226.9 (1.9)|225.7 (1.8)|226.0 (2.7)|235.8 (2.1)|234.8 (1.9)|237.6 (2.2)|236.4 (2.0)|241.5 (1.7)
  Southeast ...............|208.0 (1.3)|208.9 (1.2)|210.4 (2.5)|217.8 (2.5)|223.9 (2.4)|221.0 (1.7)|229.0 (1.4)|226.9 (2.0)|226.5 (2.6)
  Central .................|224.0 (1.5)|224.0 (1.5)|221.1 (2.7)|226.0 (2.3)|230.7 (1.3)|233.7 (1.6)|233.1 (1.8)|233.0 (2.3)|233.0 (1.4)
  West ....................|216.0 (2.2)|213.5 (1.3)|219.3 (1.8)|217.2 (2.4)|228.5 (1.8)|229.0 (2.3)|226.0 (1.6)|228.6 (1.3)|228.1 (1.7)
                           |___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________
                           |                                  13-year-olds
                           |___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Total .....................|266.0 (1.1)|264.1 (1.1)|268.6 (1.1)|269.0 (1.2)|270.4 (0.9)|273.1 (0.9)|274.3 (1.0)|274.3 (0.8)|275.8 (0.8)
                           |___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________
  Male ....................|265.0 (1.3)|263.6 (1.3)|269.2 (1.4)|270.0 (1.1)|271.2 (1.2)|274.1 (1.1)|276.0 (1.3)|276.3 (0.9)|277.2 (0.9)
  Female ..................|267.0 (1.1)|264.7 (1.1)|268.0 (1.1)|267.9 (1.5)|269.6 (0.9)|272.0 (1.0)|272.7 (1.0)|272.4 (1.0)|274.5 (1.1)
                           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
Race/ethnicity             |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
  White, non-Hispanic .....|274.0 (0.9)|271.6 (0.8)|274.4 (1.0)|273.6 (1.3)|276.3 (1.1)|278.9 (0.9)|280.8 (0.9)|281.2 (0.9)|283.1 (0.8)
  Black, non-Hispanic .....|228.0 (1.9)|229.6 (1.9)|240.4 (1.6)|249.2 (2.3)|249.1 (2.3)|250.2 (1.9)|251.5 (3.5)|252.1 (1.3)|251.0 (2.6)
  Hispanic ................|239.0 (2.2)|238.0 (2.0)|252.4 (1.7)|254.3 (2.9)|254.6 (1.8)|259.3 (1.8)|256.0 (1.9)|255.7 (1.6)|259.2 (1.7)
                           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
Parental education         |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
  Not high school graduate |  ---  --- |244.7 (1.2)|251.0 (1.4)|252.3 (2.3)|253.4 (1.8)|255.5 (1.0)|254.5 (2.1)|253.7 (2.4)|256.2 (2.8)
  Graduated high school ...|  ---  --- |263.1 (1.0)|262.9 (0.8)|262.7 (1.2)|262.6 (1.2)|263.2 (1.2)|265.7 (1.1)|266.8 (1.1)|264.0 (1.1)
  Some education after     |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
    high school ...........|  ---  --- |273.1 (1.2)|275.1 (0.9)|273.7 (0.8)|277.1 (1.0)|277.6 (1.0)|277.3 (1.6)|277.5 (1.4)|279.4 (0.9)
  Graduated college .......|  ---  --- |283.8 (1.2)|282.3 (1.5)|279.9 (1.4)|280.4 (1.0)|282.8 (1.0)|284.9 (1.2)|282.9 (1.2)|285.8 (1.0)
                           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
Control of school          |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
  Public ..................|  ---  --- |262.6 (1.2)|267.1 (1.3)|268.7 (1.2)|269.3 (1.0)|271.7 (1.0)|273.0 (1.1)|272.9 (0.9)|274.2 (1.2)
  Private .................|  ---  --- |279.2 (1.4)|281.1 (2.1)|275.7 (4.9)|279.9 (1.7)|283.3 (2.5)|284.6 (2.4)|285.5 (3.6)|288.5 (2.6)
                           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
Region                     |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
  Northeast ...............|275.0 (2.4)|272.7 (2.4)|276.9 (2.0)|276.6 (2.2)|274.7 (2.3)|273.6 (2.2)|284.2 (1.5)|275.1 (2.1)|278.7 (2.7)
  Southeast ...............|255.0 (3.2)|252.7 (3.3)|258.1 (2.2)|263.5 (1.4)|265.7 (1.9)|271.0 (2.5)|268.6 (2.0)|270.0 (1.8)|270.2 (2.3)
  Central .................|271.0 (1.8)|269.4 (1.8)|272.8 (2.1)|266.1 (4.5)|272.2 (2.4)|275.4 (1.5)|275.0 (3.4)|280.4 (1.3)|277.8 (1.8)
  West ....................|262.0 (1.9)|260.0 (1.9)|266.0 (2.4)|270.4 (2.1)|269.1 (1.6)|272.3 (1.4)|271.5 (1.7)|272.6 (1.9)|276.1 (1.4)
                           |___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________
                           |                                  17-year-olds
                           |___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Total .....................|304.0 (1.1)|300.4 (1.0)|298.5 (0.9)|302.0 (0.9)|304.6 (0.9)|306.7 (0.9)|306.2 (1.0)|307.2 (1.2)|308.2 (1.0)
                           |___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________
  Male ....................|309.0 (1.2)|303.8 (1.0)|301.5 (1.0)|304.7 (1.2)|306.3 (1.1)|308.9 (1.1)|308.5 (1.4)|309.5 (1.3)|309.8 (1.4)
  Female ..................|301.0 (1.1)|297.1 (1.0)|295.6 (1.0)|299.4 (1.0)|302.9 (1.1)|304.5 (1.1)|304.1 (1.1)|304.9 (1.4)|306.8 (1.0)
                           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
Race/ethnicity             |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
  White, non-Hispanic .....|310.0 (1.1)|305.9 (0.9)|303.7 (0.9)|307.5 (1.0)|309.5 (1.0)|311.9 (0.8)|312.3 (1.1)|313.4 (1.4)|314.8 (1.1)
  Black, non-Hispanic .....|270.0 (1.3)|268.4 (1.3)|271.8 (1.2)|278.6 (2.1)|288.5 (2.8)|285.8 (2.2)|285.5 (1.8)|286.4 (1.7)|283.3 (1.5)
  Hispanic ................|277.0 (2.2)|276.3 (2.3)|276.7 (1.8)|283.1 (2.9)|283.5 (2.9)|292.2 (2.6)|290.8 (3.7)|292.0 (2.1)|292.7 (2.5)
                           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
Parental education         |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
  Not high school graduate |  ---  --- |279.6 (1.2)|279.3 (1.0)|279.3 (2.3)|285.4 (2.2)|285.5 (2.3)|283.7 (2.4)|280.5 (2.4)|289.2 (1.8)
  Graduated high school ...|  ---  --- |293.9 (0.8)|293.4 (0.8)|293.1 (1.0)|293.7 (0.9)|297.6 (1.7)|295.3 (1.1)|297.3 (2.4)|299.1 (1.6)
  Some education after     |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
    high school ...........|  ---  --- |305.3 (0.9)|303.9 (0.9)|305.2 (1.2)|307.7 (1.0)|307.5 (1.1)|305.0 (1.3)|306.7 (1.5)|307.6 (1.6)
  Graduated college .......|  ---  --- |316.8 (1.0)|312.4 (1.0)|313.9 (1.4)|316.2 (1.3)|315.9 (1.0)|317.6 (1.4)|316.6 (1.3)|316.5 (1.2)
                           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
Control of school          |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
  Public ..................|  ---  --- |299.6 (1.0)|297.3 (0.9)|301.2 (1.0)|303.5 (0.8)|305.3 (0.9)|304.4 (0.9)|306.4 (1.1)|306.7 (1.0)
  Private .................|  ---  --- |314.3 (3.2)|311.4 (1.7)|320.1 (9.8)|317.7 (6.6)|320.4 (3.0)|319.4 (4.0)|315.5 (4.5)|320.6 (4.1)
                           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
Region                     |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |           |
  Northeast ...............|312.0 (1.8)|306.7 (1.8)|304.0 (2.0)|307.4 (1.9)|303.8 (2.1)|311.4 (2.0)|312.7 (2.9)|308.7 (3.0)|312.9 (2.4)
  Southeast ...............|296.0 (1.8)|292.3 (1.7)|292.3 (2.1)|297.3 (1.4)|301.0 (2.3)|301.3 (1.9)|300.9 (1.6)|302.7 (2.1)|299.5 (1.4)
  Central .................|306.0 (1.8)|305.2 (1.9)|302.0 (1.4)|303.6 (1.9)|311.2 (2.1)|312.2 (2.0)|307.0 (2.2)|314.0 (2.0)|309.6 (2.0)
  West ....................|303.0 (2.0)|295.5 (1.8)|294.1 (1.9)|299.3 (2.7)|302.1 (1.5)|303.1 (1.5)|304.8 (2.4)|303.8 (2.3)|310.4 (2.0)
___________________________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________

---Not available

NOTE: All age groups exclude persons not enrolled in school. These test scores are from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Performers at the 150 level know some basic addition and subtraction facts, and most can add 2-digit numbers without regrouping. They recognize simple situations in which addition and subtraction apply. Performers at the 200 level have considerable understanding of 2-digit numbers and know some basic multiplication and division facts. Performers at the 250 level have an initial understanding of the four basic operations. They can also compare information from graphs and charts, and are developing an ability to analyze simple logical relations. Performers at the 300 level can compute decimals, simple fractions and percents. They can identify geometric figures, measure lengths and angles, and calculate areas of rectangles. They are developing the skills to operate with signed numbers, exponents, and square roots. Performers at the 350 level can apply a range of reasoning skills to solve multistep problems. They can solve routine problems involving fractions and percents, recognize properties of basic geometric figures, and work with exponents and square roots. Scale ranges from 0 to 500. Standard errors appear in parentheses.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress, NAEP Trends in Academic Progress, various years, by Educational Testing Service. (This table was prepared November 2001.)


2002 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest