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


Table 144. Average mathematics scale score of 8th-grade public school students and percentage attaining mathematics achievement levels, by level of parental education and state or jurisdiction: Selected years, 1990 through 2009
State or jurisdiction Average scale score1 Percent attaining mathematics achievement levels, 2009 Average scale score, by highest level of education attained by parents, 20092
1990 1996 2000 2003 2005 2007 2009 Below Basic At or above Basic3 At or above Profi-
cient
4
At Ad- vanced 5 Did not finish high school Graduated high school Some education after high school Graduated college
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
United States 262 (1.4) 271 (1.2) 272 (0.9) 276 (0.3) 278 (0.2) 280 (0.3) 282 (0.3) 29 (0.3) 71 (0.3) 33 (0.3) 7 (0.1) 265 (0.6) 270 (0.4) 283 (0.4) 294 (0.3)
Alabama 253 (1.1) 257 (2.1) 264 (1.8) 262 (1.5) 262 (1.5) 266 (1.5) 269 (1.2) 42 (1.5) 58 (1.5) 20 (1.3) 4 (0.5) 255 (2.3) 257 (1.7) 273 (2.1) 278 (1.5)
Alaska (†) 278 (1.8)   (†) 279 (0.9) 279 (0.8) 283 (1.1) 283 (1.0) 25 (1.5) 75 (1.5) 33 (1.3) 6 (0.6) (†) (†) (†) (†)
Arizona6  260 (1.3) 268 (1.6) 269 (1.8) 271 (1.2) 274 (1.1) 276 (1.2) 277 (1.4) 33 (1.5) 67 (1.5) 29 (1.6) 6 (0.8) 263 (2.7) 267 (2.0) 282 (2.1) 292 (1.8)
Arkansas 256 (0.9) 262 (1.5) 257 (1.5) 266 (1.2) 272 (1.2) 274 (1.1) 276 (1.1) 33 (1.5) 67 (1.5) 27 (1.2) 4 (0.5) 264 (2.4) 267 (1.7) 282 (1.7) 285 (1.6)
California6  256 (1.3) 263 (1.9) 260 (2.1) 267 (1.2) 269 (0.7) 270 (0.8) 270 (1.3) 41 (1.5) 59 (1.5) 23 (1.4) 5 (0.7) 258 (2.0) 261 (1.9) 278 (2.1) 287 (1.8)
                                                             
Colorado 267 (0.9) 276 (1.1)   (†) 283 (1.1) 281 (1.2) 286 (0.9) 287 (1.4) 24 (1.5) 76 (1.5) 40 (1.4) 10 (0.8) 265 (2.8) 272 (2.3) 286 (1.9) 301 (1.5)
Connecticut 270 (1.0) 280 (1.1) 281 (1.3) 284 (1.2) 281 (1.4) 282 (1.5) 289 (1.0) 22 (1.2) 78 (1.2) 40 (1.4) 10 (0.7) 263 (2.5) 270 (1.9) 284 (1.7) 300 (0.9)
Delaware 261 (0.9) 267 (0.9)   (†) 277 (0.7) 281 (0.6) 283 (0.6) 284 (0.5) 25 (0.8) 75 (0.8) 32 (0.8) 6 (0.6) 276 (2.4) 276 (1.3) 284 (1.7) 292 (0.9)
District of Columbia 231 (0.9) 233 (1.3) 235 (1.1) 243 (0.8) 245 (0.9) 248 (0.9) 254 (0.9) 60 (1.4) 40 (1.4) 11 (0.8) 2 (0.4) 249 (3.3) 247 (2.1) 260 (2.2) 259 (1.7)
Florida 255 (1.2) 264 (1.8)   (†) 271 (1.5) 274 (1.1) 277 (1.3) 279 (1.1) 30 (1.1) 70 (1.1) 29 (1.4) 6 (0.6) 266 (2.2) 272 (1.5) 285 (1.4) 287 (1.5)
                                                             
Georgia 259 (1.3) 262 (1.6) 265 (1.2) 270 (1.2) 272 (1.1) 275 (1.0) 278 (0.9) 33 (1.2) 67 (1.2) 27 (1.2) 5 (0.5) 261 (2.2) 267 (1.8) 280 (1.7) 288 (1.2)
Hawaii 251 (0.8) 262 (1.0) 262 (1.4) 266 (0.8) 266 (0.7) 269 (0.8) 274 (0.7) 35 (1.0) 65 (1.0) 25 (1.0) 4 (0.6) 258 (3.4) 264 (1.8) 278 (1.8) 284 (1.1)
Idaho6  271 (0.8)   (†) 277 (1.0) 280 (0.9) 281 (0.9) 284 (0.9) 287 (0.8) 22 (1.0) 78 (1.0) 38 (0.9) 8 (0.5) 267 (2.9) 274 (1.7) 290 (1.5) 297 (0.8)
Illinois6  261 (1.7)   (†) 275 (1.7) 277 (1.2) 278 (1.1) 280 (1.1) 282 (1.2) 27 (1.4) 73 (1.4) 33 (1.5) 7 (0.7) 266 (2.1) 269 (1.6) 280 (1.7) 294 (1.3)
Indiana6 267 (1.2) 276 (1.4) 281 (1.4) 281 (1.1) 282 (1.0) 285 (1.1) 287 (0.9) 22 (1.2) 78 (1.2) 36 (1.1) 7 (0.6) 275 (4.2) 278 (1.8) 286 (1.6) 295 (1.2)
                                                             
Iowa 278 (1.1) 284 (1.3)   (†) 284 (0.8) 284 (0.9) 285 (0.9) 284 (1.0) 24 (1.0) 76 (1.0) 34 (1.4) 7 (0.9) 264 (3.0) 274 (1.8) 285 (1.8) 293 (1.2)
Kansas6  (†)   (†) 283 (1.7) 284 (1.3) 284 (1.0) 290 (1.1) 289 (1.0) 21 (1.3) 79 (1.3) 39 (1.4) 8 (0.8) 272 (2.5) 280 (2.0) 290 (1.8) 298 (1.1)
Kentucky 257 (1.2) 267 (1.1) 270 (1.3) 274 (1.2) 274 (1.2) 279 (1.1) 279 (1.1) 30 (1.2) 70 (1.2) 27 (1.4) 5 (0.6) 262 (2.2) 271 (1.8) 283 (1.3) 289 (1.3)
Louisiana 246 (1.2) 252 (1.6) 259 (1.5) 266 (1.5) 268 (1.4) 272 (1.1) 272 (1.6) 38 (1.6) 62 (1.6) 20 (1.8) 4 (1.1) 265 (2.3) 265 (1.7) 277 (1.9) 281 (2.6)
Maine6 (†) 284 (1.3) 281 (1.1) 282 (0.9) 281 (0.8) 286 (0.8) 286 (0.7) 22 (1.1) 78 (1.1) 35 (1.1) 8 (0.6) 268 (3.1) 276 (1.7) 284 (1.5) 295 (1.0)
                                                             
Maryland 261 (1.4) 270 (2.1) 272 (1.7) 278 (1.0) 278 (1.1) 286 (1.2) 288 (1.1) 25 (1.2) 75 (1.2) 40 (1.6) 12 (0.9) 271 (2.8) 272 (1.9) 286 (1.9) 299 (1.5)
Massachusetts (†) 278 (1.7) 279 (1.5) 287 (0.9) 292 (0.9) 298 (1.3) 299 (1.3) 15 (1.2) 85 (1.2) 52 (1.6) 17 (1.3) 275 (3.6) 285 (2.1) 290 (2.1) 310 (1.1)
Michigan6  264 (1.2) 277 (1.8) 277 (1.9) 276 (2.0) 277 (1.5) 277 (1.4) 278 (1.6) 32 (1.8) 68 (1.8) 31 (1.6) 7 (0.8) 253 (3.6) 263 (2.2) 277 (2.4) 290 (1.7)
Minnesota 275 (0.9) 284 (1.3) 287 (1.4) 291 (1.1) 290 (1.2) 292 (1.0) 294 (1.0) 17 (1.0) 83 (1.0) 47 (1.3) 13 (1.0) 265 (3.4) 276 (2.2) 294 (1.9) 304 (1.2)
Mississippi (†) 250 (1.2) 254 (1.1) 261 (1.1) 263 (1.2) 265 (0.8) 265 (1.2) 46 (1.8) 54 (1.8) 15 (1.0) 2 (0.4) 252 (2.5) 256 (1.7) 273 (1.6) 271 (1.4)
                                                             
Missouri (†) 273 (1.4) 271 (1.5) 279 (1.1) 276 (1.3) 281 (1.0) 286 (1.0) 23 (1.3) 77 (1.3) 35 (1.2) 7 (0.6) 269 (2.9) 275 (1.7) 287 (1.5) 294 (1.2)
Montana6 280 (0.9) 283 (1.3) 285 (1.4) 286 (0.8) 286 (0.7) 287 (0.7) 292 (0.9) 18 (0.9) 82 (0.9) 44 (1.2) 10 (0.9) 268 (4.3) 280 (1.9) 294 (1.6) 300 (1.0)
Nebraska 276 (1.0) 283 (1.0) 280 (1.2) 282 (0.9) 284 (1.0) 284 (1.0) 284 (1.1) 25 (1.3) 75 (1.3) 35 (1.3) 8 (0.7) 265 (2.6) 272 (2.0) 283 (1.8) 294 (1.2)
Nevada (†)   (†) 265 (0.8) 268 (0.8) 270 (0.8) 271 (0.8) 274 (0.7) 37 (1.4) 63 (1.4) 25 (0.9) 5 (0.5) 260 (1.7) 266 (1.6) 280 (1.6) 287 (1.3)
New Hampshire 273 (0.9)   (†)   (†) 286 (0.8) 285 (0.8) 288 (0.7) 292 (0.9) 18 (1.3) 82 (1.3) 43 (1.3) 11 (0.7) 275 (3.5) 280 (1.6) 289 (1.5) 301 (1.0)
                                                             
New Jersey 270 (1.1)   (†)   (†) 281 (1.1) 284 (1.4) 289 (1.2) 293 (1.4) 20 (1.4) 80 (1.4) 44 (1.7) 14 (0.9) 270 (3.3) 277 (2.3) 292 (1.8) 302 (1.6)
New Mexico 256 (0.7) 262 (1.2) 259 (1.3) 263 (1.0) 263 (0.9) 268 (0.9) 270 (1.1) 41 (1.3) 59 (1.3) 20 (1.4) 3 (0.4) 260 (1.9) 261 (2.0) 273 (2.0) 284 (1.4)
New York6 261 (1.4) 270 (1.7) 271 (2.2) 280 (1.1) 280 (0.9) 280 (1.2) 283 (1.2) 27 (1.4) 73 (1.4) 34 (1.3) 8 (0.7) 268 (2.8) 272 (1.7) 280 (1.8) 294 (1.4)
North Carolina 250 (1.1) 268 (1.4) 276 (1.3) 281 (1.0) 282 (0.9) 284 (1.1) 284 (1.3) 26 (1.3) 74 (1.3) 36 (1.5) 9 (0.8) 267 (2.3) 272 (1.7) 284 (1.7) 296 (1.4)
North Dakota 281 (1.2) 284 (0.9) 282 (1.1) 287 (0.8) 287 (0.6) 292 (0.7) 293 (0.7) 14 (0.8) 86 (0.8) 43 (1.1) 7 (0.9) 275 (5.2) 281 (1.9) 292 (1.9) 298 (0.8)
                                                             
Ohio 264 (1.0)   (†) 281 (1.6) 282 (1.3) 283 (1.1) 285 (1.2) 286 (1.0) 24 (1.4) 76 (1.4) 36 (1.3) 8 (0.6) 270 (2.5) 276 (1.5) 285 (1.7) 295 (1.1)
Oklahoma 263 (1.3)   (†) 270 (1.3) 272 (1.1) 271 (1.0) 275 (0.9) 276 (1.0) 32 (1.3) 68 (1.3) 24 (1.3) 3 (0.6) 259 (2.7) 267 (1.9) 279 (1.5) 284 (1.5)
Oregon6 271 (1.0) 276 (1.5) 280 (1.5) 281 (1.3) 282 (1.0) 284 (1.1) 285 (1.0) 25 (1.0) 75 (1.0) 37 (1.3) 8 (0.9) 268 (1.8) 273 (1.7) 289 (1.7) 299 (1.4)
Pennsylvania 266 (1.6)   (†)   (†) 279 (1.1) 281 (1.5) 286 (1.1) 288 (1.3) 22 (1.1) 78 (1.1) 40 (1.8) 10 (1.0) 268 (3.3) 274 (1.6) 289 (2.0) 300 (1.5)
Rhode Island 260 (0.6) 269 (0.9) 269 (1.3) 272 (0.7) 272 (0.8) 275 (0.7) 278 (0.8) 32 (1.3) 68 (1.3) 28 (1.0) 6 (0.6) 257 (2.8) 268 (1.7) 279 (1.8) 289 (1.2)
                                                             
South Carolina (†) 261 (1.5) 265 (1.5) 277 (1.3) 281 (0.9) 282 (1.0) 280 (1.3) 31 (1.6) 69 (1.6) 30 (1.3) 7 (0.7) 266 (2.5) 269 (2.0) 283 (1.5) 290 (1.5)
South Dakota (†)   (†)   (†) 285 (0.8) 287 (0.6) 288 (0.8) 291 (0.5) 17 (0.7) 83 (0.7) 42 (1.1) 7 (0.5) 271 (2.8) 280 (1.7) 292 (1.3) 298 (0.7)
Tennessee (†) 263 (1.4) 262 (1.5) 268 (1.8) 271 (1.1) 274 (1.1) 275 (1.4) 35 (1.7) 65 (1.7) 25 (1.5) 4 (0.6) 264 (2.1) 262 (1.6) 280 (1.7) 284 (1.8)
Texas 258 (1.4) 270 (1.4) 273 (1.6) 277 (1.1) 281 (0.6) 286 (1.0) 287 (1.3) 22 (1.5) 78 (1.5) 36 (1.5) 8 (0.9) 273 (1.8) 278 (1.7) 289 (1.8) 300 (1.7)
Utah (†) 277 (1.0) 274 (1.2) 281 (1.0) 279 (0.7) 281 (0.9) 284 (0.9) 25 (1.0) 75 (1.0) 35 (1.2) 7 (0.8) 258 (3.2) 270 (2.3) 283 (1.7) 294 (1.1)
                                                             
Vermont6 (†) 279 (1.0) 281 (1.5) 286 (0.8) 287 (0.8) 291 (0.7) 293 (0.6) 19 (0.8) 81 (0.8) 43 (0.9) 13 (0.8) 271 (3.4) 276 (1.4) 288 (1.6) 304 (0.8)
Virginia 264 (1.5) 270 (1.6) 275 (1.3) 282 (1.3) 284 (1.1) 288 (1.1) 286 (1.1) 24 (1.2) 76 (1.2) 36 (1.4) 8 (0.8) 269 (2.9) 271 (1.7) 284 (1.8) 296 (1.5)
Washington (†) 276 (1.3)   (†) 281 (0.9) 285 (1.0) 285 (1.0) 289 (1.0) 22 (1.1) 78 (1.1) 39 (1.2) 11 (0.8) 262 (2.1) 277 (1.7) 290 (2.0) 301 (1.2)
West Virginia 256 (1.0) 265 (1.0) 266 (1.2) 271 (1.2) 269 (1.0) 270 (1.0) 270 (1.0) 39 (1.3) 61 (1.3) 19 (0.9) 2 (0.4) 253 (3.1) 260 (1.8) 277 (1.5) 281 (1.3)
Wisconsin 274 (1.3) 283 (1.5)   (†) 284 (1.3) 285 (1.2) 286 (1.1) 288 (0.9) 21 (1.0) 79 (1.0) 39 (1.2) 8 (0.8) 262 (3.0) 279 (1.7) 289 (1.6) 298 (1.2)
Wyoming 272 (0.7) 275 (0.9) 276 (1.0) 284 (0.7) 282 (0.8) 287 (0.7) 286 (0.6) 22 (1.2) 78 (1.2) 35 (1.1) 7 (0.6) 270 (3.4) 275 (1.8) 288 (1.6) 295 (1.1)
Department of Defense                                                            
dependents schools7 (†) 274 (0.9) 277 (1.1) 285 (0.7) 284 (0.7) 285 (0.8) 287 (0.9) 21 (1.0) 79 (1.0) 36 (1.4) 6 (0.8) (†) 272 (2.7) 286 (1.5) 293 (1.2)
                                                             
Other jurisdictions                                                            
American Samoa (†)   (†) 192 (5.5)   (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†)
Guam 232 (0.7) 239 (1.7) 234 (2.6)   (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†)
Puerto Rico8 (†)   (†)   (†) 212 (1.0) 218 (1.0) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†)
U.S. Virgin Islands 219 (0.9)   (†)   (†)   (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†)
—Not available.
†Not applicable.
‡Reporting standards not met.
1 Scale ranges from 0 to 500.
2 Excludes students who responded "I don't know" to the question about educational level of parents.
3 Basic denotes partial mastery of prerequisite knowledge and skills that are fundamental for proficient work at the 8th-grade level.
4 Proficient represents solid academic performance for 8th-graders. Students reaching this level have demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter.
5 Advanced signifies superior performance.
6 Did not meet one or more of the guidelines for school participation in 2000. Data are subject to appreciable nonresponse bias.
7 Prior to 2005, NAEP divided the Department of Defense (DoD) schools into two jurisdictions, domestic and overseas. In 2005, NAEP began combining the DoD domestic and overseas schools into a single jurisdiction. Data shown in this table for years prior to 2005 were recalculated for comparability.
8 Because of modifications to the 2005 Puerto Rico administration, results from 2003 should not be compared to results from 2005. Although parallel changes were not made in the nation in 2005, within-year comparisons between Puerto Rico and the nation are valid.
NOTE: Excludes persons not enrolled in school and those who were unable to be tested due to limited proficiency in English or due to a disability. Data for 2000, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009 include students for whom accommodations were permitted. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Standard errors appear in parentheses.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1990, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009 Mathematics Assessments, retrieved November 18, 2009, from the Main NAEP Data Explorer (http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/naepdata/). (This table was prepared November 2009.)

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