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Digest of Education Statistics
2010 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 141. Percentage of students at or above selected mathematics proficiency levels, by age, sex, and race/ethnicity: Selected years, 1978 through 2008
Selected character-istic 9-year-olds 13-year-olds 17-year-olds
Simple arithmetic facts1 Beginning skills and understand-
ings2
Numerical operations and beginning problem solving3 Beginning skills and understand-
ings2
Numerical operations and beginning problem solving3 Moderately complex proce-
dures and reasoning4
Numerical operations and beginning problem solving3 Moderately complex proce-
dures and reasoning4
Multistep problem solving and algebra5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Total                                    
1978 96.7 (0.25) 70.4 (0.92) 19.6 (0.73) 94.6 (0.46) 64.9 (1.18) 18.0 (0.73) 92.0 (0.50) 51.5 (1.14) 7.3 (0.44)
1982 97.1 (0.35) 71.4 (1.18) 18.8 (0.96) 97.7 (0.37) 71.4 (1.18) 17.4 (0.95) 93.0 (0.50) 48.5 (1.28) 5.5 (0.43)
1986 97.9 (0.29) 74.1 (1.24) 20.7 (0.88) 98.6 (0.25) 73.3 (1.59) 15.8 (1.01) 95.6 (0.48) 51.7 (1.43) 6.5 (0.52)
1990 99.1 (0.21) 81.5 (0.96) 27.7 (0.86) 98.5 (0.21) 74.7 (1.03) 17.3 (0.99) 96.0 (0.52) 56.1 (1.43) 7.2 (0.63)
1992 99.0 (0.24) 81.4 (0.80) 27.8 (0.90) 98.7 (0.25) 77.9 (1.06) 18.9 (1.01) 96.6 (0.52) 59.1 (1.26) 7.2 (0.63)
1994 99.0 (0.24) 82.0 (0.66) 29.9 (1.12) 98.5 (0.33) 78.1 (1.07) 21.3 (1.35) 96.5 (0.50) 58.6 (1.35) 7.4 (0.76)
1996 99.1 (0.18) 81.5 (0.76) 29.7 (1.02) 98.8 (0.20) 78.6 (0.87) 20.6 (1.24) 96.8 (0.42) 60.1 (1.72) 7.4 (0.77)
1999 98.9 (0.17) 82.5 (0.84) 30.9 (1.07) 98.7 (0.25) 78.8 (1.02) 23.2 (0.95) 96.8 (0.45) 60.7 (1.63) 8.4 (0.83)
2004 98.7 (0.19) 87.0 (0.77) 40.9 (0.89) 98.1 (0.19) 81.1 (0.98) 27.8 (1.09) 95.8 (0.40) 58.3 (1.12) 6.1 (0.47)
2008 99.0 (0.18) 89.1 (0.69) 44.5 (1.01) 98.2 (0.19) 83.4 (0.63) 30.0 (1.08) 96.0 (0.37) 59.4 (0.87) 6.2 (0.40)
                                     
Male                                    
1978 96.2 (0.48) 68.9 (0.98) 19.2 (0.64) 93.9 (0.49) 63.9 (1.32) 18.4 (0.85) 93.0 (0.52) 55.1 (1.21) 9.5 (0.57)
1982 96.5 (0.55) 68.8 (1.29) 18.1 (1.06) 97.5 (0.55) 71.3 (1.44) 18.9 (1.18) 93.9 (0.58) 51.9 (1.51) 6.9 (0.70)
1986 98.0 (0.51) 74.0 (1.45) 20.9 (1.10) 98.5 (0.32) 73.8 (1.76) 17.6 (1.12) 96.1 (0.63) 54.6 (1.78) 8.4 (0.91)
1990 99.0 (0.26) 80.6 (1.05) 27.5 (0.96) 98.2 (0.34) 75.1 (1.75) 19.0 (1.24) 95.8 (0.77) 57.6 (1.42) 8.8 (0.76)
1992 99.0 (0.29) 81.9 (1.05) 29.4 (1.21) 98.8 (0.42) 78.1 (1.60) 20.7 (1.13) 96.9 (0.56) 60.5 (1.80) 9.1 (0.73)
1994 99.1 (0.27) 82.3 (0.87) 31.5 (1.59) 98.3 (0.45) 78.9 (1.49) 23.9 (1.59) 97.3 (0.57) 60.2 (2.08) 9.3 (1.04)
1996 99.1 (0.20) 82.5 (1.10) 32.7 (1.74) 98.7 (0.25) 79.8 (1.43) 23.0 (1.64) 97.0 (0.66) 62.7 (1.77) 9.5 (1.32)
1999 98.8 (0.28) 82.6 (0.92) 32.4 (1.25) 98.5 (0.27) 79.3 (1.12) 25.4 (1.19) 96.5 (0.81) 63.1 (2.12) 9.8 (1.09)
2004 98.3 (0.27) 86.1 (0.89) 40.7 (1.03) 97.7 (0.29) 80.5 (1.08) 29.9 (1.27) 95.6 (0.45) 60.8 (1.31) 7.3 (0.68)
2008 99.0 (0.27) 88.4 (0.87) 44.4 (1.18) 98.2 (0.28) 84.3 (0.75) 33.4 (1.29) 96.2 (0.47) 62.9 (0.96) 7.6 (0.61)
                                     
Female                                    
1978 97.2 (0.27) 72.0 (1.05) 19.9 (1.00) 95.2 (0.49) 65.9 (1.17) 17.5 (0.75) 91.0 (0.57) 48.2 (1.29) 5.2 (0.66)
1982 97.6 (0.33) 74.0 (1.30) 19.6 (1.11) 98.0 (0.27) 71.4 (1.29) 15.9 (1.00) 92.1 (0.56) 45.3 (1.37) 4.1 (0.42)
1986 97.8 (0.38) 74.3 (1.32) 20.6 (1.28) 98.6 (0.31) 72.7 (1.95) 14.1 (1.31) 95.1 (0.65) 48.9 (1.73) 4.7 (0.59)
1990 99.1 (0.26) 82.3 (1.26) 27.9 (1.31) 98.9 (0.18) 74.4 (1.32) 15.7 (1.00) 96.2 (0.84) 54.7 (1.84) 5.6 (0.79)
1992 99.0 (0.33) 80.9 (1.15) 26.3 (1.52) 98.6 (0.23) 77.7 (1.06) 17.2 (1.39) 96.3 (0.82) 57.7 (1.63) 5.2 (0.75)
1994 98.9 (0.31) 81.7 (0.91) 28.3 (1.28) 98.7 (0.31) 77.3 (0.99) 18.7 (1.39) 96.0 (0.65) 57.2 (1.40) 5.5 (0.87)
1996 99.1 (0.36) 80.7 (0.93) 26.7 (1.07) 98.8 (0.27) 77.4 (1.09) 18.4 (1.48) 96.7 (0.57) 57.6 (2.21) 5.3 (0.80)
1999 99.0 (0.19) 82.5 (1.15) 29.4 (1.36) 99.0 (0.40) 78.4 (1.22) 21.0 (1.38) 97.2 (0.40) 58.5 (1.89) 7.1 (1.06)
2004 99.0 (0.22) 87.8 (0.96) 41.1 (1.13) 98.4 (0.25) 81.7 (1.10) 25.7 (1.24) 95.9 (0.58) 55.9 (1.18) 4.9 (0.48)
2008 99.0 (0.21) 89.9 (0.78) 44.6 (1.18) 98.2 (0.25) 82.5 (0.86) 26.7 (1.13) 95.7 (0.43) 55.8 (1.25) 4.6 (0.34)
                                     
White                                    
1978 98.3 (0.19) 76.3 (1.00) 22.9 (0.87) 97.6 (0.27) 72.9 (0.85) 21.4 (0.73) 95.6 (0.30) 57.6 (1.14) 8.5 (0.48)
1982 98.5 (0.25) 76.8 (1.22) 21.8 (1.13) 99.1 (0.14) 78.3 (0.94) 20.5 (1.00) 96.2 (0.33) 54.7 (1.41) 6.4 (0.54)
1986 98.8 (0.24) 79.6 (1.33) 24.6 (1.03) 99.3 (0.27) 78.9 (1.69) 18.6 (1.17) 98.0 (0.36) 59.1 (1.69) 7.9 (0.68)
1990 99.6 (0.16) 86.9 (0.86) 32.7 (1.04) 99.4 (0.14) 82.0 (1.01) 21.0 (1.23) 97.6 (0.28) 63.2 (1.59) 8.3 (0.73)
1992 99.6 (0.14) 86.9 (0.68) 32.4 (1.01) 99.6 (0.18) 84.9 (1.10) 22.8 (1.28) 98.3 (0.36) 66.4 (1.40) 8.7 (0.87)
1994 99.6 (0.16) 87.0 (0.84) 35.3 (1.33) 99.3 (0.22) 85.5 (0.93) 25.6 (1.64) 98.4 (0.36) 67.0 (1.40) 9.4 (1.06)
1996 99.6 (0.15) 86.6 (0.80) 35.7 (1.38) 99.6 (0.16) 86.4 (1.02) 25.4 (1.50) 98.7 (0.37) 68.7 (2.18) 9.2 (1.02)
1999 99.6 (0.12) 88.6 (0.78) 37.1 (1.35) 99.4 (0.29) 86.7 (0.92) 29.0 (1.26) 98.7 (0.40) 69.9 (1.96) 10.4 (1.07)
2004 99.2 (0.18) 91.9 (0.61) 47.2 (0.97) 99.1 (0.16) 89.3 (0.82) 35.1 (1.21) 97.5 (0.28) 66.8 (1.08) 7.6 (0.63)
2008 99.6 (0.12) 94.0 (0.52) 52.9 (1.29) 98.9 (0.17) 90.4 (0.83) 39.2 (1.60) 98.2 (0.26) 70.5 (1.09) 8.1 (0.55)
                                     
Black                                    
1978 88.4 (1.01) 42.0 (1.44) 4.1 (0.64) 79.7 (1.48) 28.7 (2.06) 2.3 (0.48) 70.7 (1.73) 16.8 (1.57) 0.5 (—)
1982 90.2 (0.97) 46.1 (2.35) 4.4 (0.81) 90.2 (1.60) 37.9 (2.51) 2.9 (0.96) 76.4 (1.47) 17.1 (1.51) 0.5 (—)
1986 93.9 (1.37) 53.4 (2.47) 5.6 (0.92) 95.4 (0.95) 49.0 (3.70) 4.0 (1.42) 85.6 (2.53) 20.8 (2.83) 0.2 (—)
1990 96.9 (0.88) 60.0 (2.76) 9.4 (1.72) 95.4 (1.10) 48.7 (3.56) 3.9 (1.61) 92.4 (2.20) 32.8 (4.49) 2.0 (1.04)
1992 96.6 (1.12) 59.8 (2.82) 9.6 (1.42) 95.0 (1.35) 51.0 (2.73) 4.0 (0.69) 89.6 (2.53) 29.8 (3.94) 0.9 (—)
1994 97.4 (0.98) 65.9 (2.56) 11.1 (1.71) 95.6 (1.60) 51.0 (3.91) 6.4 (2.37) 90.6 (1.79) 29.8 (3.38) 0.4 (—)
1996 97.3 (0.84) 65.3 (2.38) 10.0 (1.24) 96.2 (1.27) 53.7 (2.56) 4.8 (1.08) 90.6 (1.33) 31.2 (2.51) 0.9 (—)
1999 96.4 (0.64) 63.3 (2.11) 12.3 (1.48) 96.5 (1.06) 50.8 (4.01) 4.4 (1.37) 88.6 (1.95) 26.6 (2.70) 1.0 (—)
2004 97.1 (0.65) 74.3 (2.61) 22.0 (1.72) 95.3 (0.78) 61.5 (2.47) 9.7 (1.35) 89.1 (1.63) 29.4 (2.07) 0.4 (—)
2008 96.9 (0.86) 75.6 (2.31) 24.6 (1.67) 96.6 (0.68) 67.6 (1.69) 10.2 (1.17) 90.6 (1.42) 31.8 (1.60) 0.8 (0.23)
                                     
Hispanic                                    
1978 93.0 (1.20) 54.2 (2.80) 9.2 (2.49) 86.4 (0.94) 36.0 (2.92) 4.0 (0.95) 78.3 (2.29) 23.4 (2.67) 1.4 (0.58)
1982 94.3 (1.19) 55.7 (2.26) 7.8 (1.74) 95.9 (0.95) 52.2 (2.48) 6.3 (0.97) 81.4 (1.86) 21.6 (2.16) 0.7 (0.36)
1986 96.4 (1.29) 57.6 (2.95) 7.3 (2.81) 96.9 (1.43) 56.0 (5.01) 5.5 (1.15) 89.3 (2.52) 26.5 (4.48) 1.1 (—)
1990 98.0 (0.76) 68.4 (3.03) 11.3 (3.49) 96.8 (1.06) 56.7 (3.32) 6.4 (1.70) 85.8 (4.18) 30.1 (3.09) 1.9 (0.78)
1992 97.2 (1.29) 65.0 (2.94) 11.7 (2.53) 98.1 (0.70) 63.3 (2.67) 7.0 (1.15) 94.1 (2.21) 39.2 (4.86) 1.2 (—)
1994 97.2 (1.15) 63.5 (3.08) 9.7 (1.82) 97.1 (1.31) 59.2 (2.17) 6.4 (1.78) 91.8 (3.57) 38.3 (5.50) 1.4 (—)
1996 98.1 (0.73) 67.1 (2.14) 13.8 (2.26) 96.2 (0.78) 58.3 (2.28) 6.7 (1.17) 92.2 (2.24) 40.1 (3.47) 1.8 (—)
1999 98.1 (0.71) 67.5 (2.47) 10.5 (1.63) 97.2 (0.60) 62.9 (2.50) 8.2 (1.37) 93.6 (2.21) 37.7 (4.15) 3.1 (1.12)
2004 98.0 (0.46) 80.5 (2.03) 30.2 (2.17) 96.4 (0.66) 68.5 (1.86) 13.7 (1.44) 92.3 (1.05) 38.1 (2.12) 1.9 (0.60)
2008 98.9 (0.28) 85.1 (1.25) 33.5 (1.46) 97.0 (0.44) 73.3 (1.71) 14.4 (1.09) 92.2 (1.10) 41.1 (1.69) 1.5 (0.41)
—Not available.
1 Scale score of 150 or above.
2 Scale score of 200 or above.
3 Scale score of 250 or above.
4 Scale score of 300 or above.
5 Scale score of 350 or above.
NOTE: 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. Beginning in 2004, data are for a revised assessment format that provides accommodations for students with disabilities and English language learners. Totals include other racial/ethnic groups not shown separately. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Standard errors appear in parentheses.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), NAEP 1999 Trends in Academic Progress; and 2004 and 2008 Long-Term Trend Mathematics Assessments, retrieved May 4, 2009, from the Long-Term Trend NAEP Data Explorer (http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/naepdata/). (This table was prepared June 2009.)

2010 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest