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Digest of Education Statistics
2013 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 225.40. Percentage of public and private high school graduates taking selected mathematics and science courses in high school, by selected student and school characteristics: Selected years, 1990 through 2009
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Year and student or school characteristic Mathematics Science
Algebra I1,2 Geometry1 Algebra II/ trigonometry3 Analysis/
precalculus3
Statistics/
probability3
Calculus1 Biology1 Chemistry1 Physics1 Biology and chemistry4 Biology, chemistry, and physics5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1990                                                    
Total6 64.5 (1.55) 64.1 (1.33) 53.6 (1.32) 13.4   (0.95) 1.0   (0.21) 6.5 (0.46) 91.3 (0.98) 49.2 (1.22) 21.3   (0.84) 47.8 (1.23) 18.7   (0.71)
Sex                                                    
Male 62.0 (1.57) 63.0 (1.57) 51.8 (1.44) 14.1   (1.14) 1.2   (0.27) 7.6 (0.64) 90.0 (1.09) 48.1 (1.40) 25.1   (0.95) 46.6 (1.40) 21.8   (0.82)
Female 66.7 (1.69) 65.0 (1.31) 55.2 (1.45) 12.8   (0.94) 0.8   (0.20) 5.6 (0.37) 92.5 (0.94) 50.2 (1.29) 17.7   (0.87) 48.9 (1.30) 16.0   (0.76)
                                                     
Race/ethnicity                                                    
White 64.6 (1.83) 66.4 (1.43) 56.9 (1.53) 14.9   (1.04) 1.0   (0.22) 6.9 (0.53) 91.5 (1.06) 51.8 (1.33) 22.8   (0.91) 50.5 (1.35) 20.5   (0.82)
Black 65.1 (2.42) 56.3 (2.58) 43.9 (2.77) 6.2   (0.96) 1.1 ! (0.44) 2.8 (0.55) 91.3 (2.19) 40.3 (2.19) 14.5   (1.85) 39.5 (2.24) 12.0   (1.23)
Hispanic 64.8 (2.75) 54.1 (2.89) 39.9 (2.80) 7.1   (0.82)   (†) 3.8 (0.67) 90.2 (1.40) 38.3 (2.90) 12.7   (1.33) 36.4 (2.70) 10.0   (1.21)
Asian/Pacific Islander 63.5 (3.01) 71.5 (2.90) 69.3 (5.51) 25.2   (6.54)   (†) 18.4 (3.23) 90.2 (2.73) 63.5 (4.01) 38.0   (3.36) 60.0 (3.45) 33.4   (2.56)
American Indian/Alaska Native 61.7 (8.40) 55.7 (2.85) 53.9 (4.80)   (†)   (†) (†) 90.5 (4.37) 35.5 (4.50)   (†) 34.2 (4.46)   (†)
                                                     
Student with disabilities (SD) status                                                    
SD7  20.6 (3.09) 11.8 (2.42) 8.3 (2.04)   (†)   (†) (†) 65.0 (4.73) 7.7 (1.53)   (†) (†)   (†)
Non-SD 65.4 (1.59) 65.1 (1.32) 54.5 (1.35) 13.6   (0.97) 1.0   (0.21) 6.7 (0.47) 91.8 (0.92) 50.0 (1.24) 21.6   (0.84) 48.6 (1.23) 19.1   (0.71)
                                                     
English language learner (ELL) status                                                    
ELL 57.7 (5.79) 42.2 (6.30) 37.1 (6.64)   (†)   (†) (†) 70.5 (4.66) (†)   (†) (†)   (†)
Non-ELL 64.5 (1.56) 64.2 (1.34) 53.7 (1.34) 13.4   (0.95) 1.0   (0.21) 6.6 (0.47) 91.4 (0.98) 49.3 (1.23) 21.3   (0.84) 48.0 (1.23) 18.8   (0.71)
                                                     
School type                                                    
Traditional public 62.9 (1.66) 61.9 (1.41) 51.4 (1.32) 12.2   (1.11) 0.8   (0.20) 6.2 (0.48) 90.7 (1.08) 47.4 (1.32) 20.2   (0.86) 46.0 (1.33) 17.8   (0.71)
Public charter (†) (†) (†)   (†)   (†) (†) (†) (†)   (†) (†)   (†)
Private 79.9 (2.22) 85.5 (1.98) 75.5 (3.55) 25.3   (3.44) 2.6 ! (1.03) 9.7 (1.33) 97.2 (0.55) 66.7 (2.71) 31.4   (2.30) 65.2 (2.67) 28.2   (2.07)
                                                     
Percentage of students eligible for                                                    
free or reduced-price lunch                                                    
0–25 percent 64.9 (2.16) 67.4 (1.67) 57.8 (2.05) 15.3   (1.38) 1.1   (0.31) 7.5 (0.70) 92.4 (1.09) 54.0 (1.60) 22.8   (1.27) 52.8 (1.59) 21.0   (1.12)
26–50 percent 60.6 (3.97) 45.4 (2.90) 44.6 (2.74) 5.5   (1.43)   (†) 3.8 (0.89) 88.8 (4.60) 36.5 (3.08) 15.3   (2.08) 35.5 (3.33) 12.8   (1.71)
51–75 percent 74.2 (7.31) 56.0 (14.72) 40.1 (5.12) 5.6   (1.54) #   (†) (†) 93.6 (2.87) 33.5 (4.28) 12.7   (3.12) 33.0 (4.42) 11.7   (2.83)
76–100 percent 96.0 (4.01) 89.4 (0.92) 78.7 (2.96)   (†) #   (†) # (†) 99.0 (0.99) (†)   (†) (†)   (†)
2000                                                    
Total6 66.5 (1.75) 78.3 (1.08) 68.3 (1.45) 26.6   (1.40) 5.7   (0.85) 11.6 (0.72) 91.1 (1.01) 61.8 (1.48) 31.3   (1.16) 59.2 (1.50) 25.0   (1.10)
Sex                                                    
Male 65.0 (1.72) 74.8 (1.31) 65.2 (1.46) 25.3   (1.39) 5.8   (0.97) 12.1 (0.79) 88.9 (1.32) 57.7 (1.42) 34.1   (1.29) 54.3 (1.49) 26.3   (1.23)
Female 68.0 (1.87) 81.4 (1.01) 71.1 (1.69) 27.8   (1.61) 5.6   (0.85) 11.1 (0.77) 93.2 (0.82) 65.5 (1.75) 28.9   (1.22) 63.6 (1.76) 23.9   (1.14)
                                                     
Race/ethnicity                                                    
White 65.1 (2.08) 79.2 (1.21) 69.6 (1.57) 28.1   (1.74) 6.1   (1.00) 12.5 (0.77) 91.7 (1.15) 62.9 (1.66) 32.3   (1.34) 60.1 (1.72) 25.6   (1.20)
Black 70.1 (3.20) 77.8 (1.93) 64.7 (2.32) 16.1   (1.52) 3.7 ! (1.24) 4.6 (0.55) 92.4 (1.09) 59.5 (2.38) 25.1   (1.97) 57.8 (2.31) 20.0   (1.76)
Hispanic 73.2 (2.43) 72.6 (3.30) 60.0 (5.06) 19.3   (2.95) 2.3   (0.52) 5.6 (0.86) 87.8 (2.69) 52.0 (4.13) 23.1   (2.32) 50.3 (4.30) 17.7   (2.19)
Asian/Pacific Islander 58.1 (3.28) 81.3 (2.03) 81.3 (2.00) 48.7   (2.79) 11.4   (2.44) 30.4 (5.02) 87.8 (3.20) 75.1 (2.89) 53.8   (2.80) 70.6 (3.03) 47.0   (2.70)
American Indian/Alaska Native 68.7 (5.80) 65.0 (6.18) 60.3 (5.51)   (†)   (†) (†) 88.4 (2.88) 43.6 (4.03)   (†) 39.4 (3.81)   (†)
                                                     
Student with disabilities (SD) status                                                    
SD7  45.2 (2.96) 36.1 (2.90) 22.9 (2.88) 6.7 ! (2.23)   (†) (†) 72.0 (2.71) 21.2 (2.88) 13.6   (2.63) 19.9 (2.84) 7.9 ! (2.45)
Non-SD 67.3 (1.77) 79.9 (1.08) 70.1 (1.46) 27.4   (1.43) 5.9   (0.87) 11.9 (0.74) 91.9 (1.02) 63.4 (1.47) 32.0   (1.18) 60.7 (1.51) 25.7   (1.11)
                                                     
English language learner (ELL) status                                                    
ELL 62.3 (5.71) 57.8 (4.11) 45.8 (4.82) 15.0   (2.20)   (†) (†) 73.4 (7.02) 34.9 (4.50) 20.8   (4.16) 31.3 (4.97) 11.2   (2.53)
Non-ELL 66.5 (1.75) 78.5 (1.07) 68.6 (1.44) 26.7   (1.41) 5.7   (0.86) 11.6 (0.73) 91.3 (0.98) 62.1 (1.47) 31.4   (1.18) 59.5 (1.50) 25.2   (1.11)
                                                     
School type                                                    
Traditional public 65.3 (1.76) 77.0 (1.20) 67.1 (1.57) 24.1   (1.43) 5.5   (0.85) 10.9 (0.71) 90.5 (1.11) 59.5 (1.42) 30.0   (1.22) 56.8 (1.44) 23.5   (1.10)
Public charter (†) (†) (†)   (†)   (†) (†) (†) (†)   (†) (†)   (†)
Private 79.1 (3.29) 92.3 (2.52) 81.9 (6.49) 53.8   (5.88) 7.8 ! (3.33) 18.2 (3.99) 98.2 (0.53) 86.6 (3.88) 45.1   (7.62) 85.4 (3.87) 41.5   (7.38)
                                                     
Percentage of students eligible for                                                    
free or reduced-price lunch                                                    
0–25 percent 66.8 (2.64) 80.3 (1.47) 68.1 (2.36) 29.6   (2.41) 6.5   (1.53) 13.4 (1.32) 91.4 (1.53) 65.2 (2.51) 34.5   (2.05) 61.9 (2.59) 28.6   (1.83)
26–50 percent 64.8 (3.65) 72.5 (2.90) 67.2 (1.86) 19.1   (2.12) 3.5   (1.00) 8.8 (1.09) 93.4 (1.49) 56.0 (2.10) 26.3   (2.50) 55.0 (2.15) 19.1   (1.19)
51–75 percent 72.7 (3.97) 77.5 (3.48) 66.7 (5.53) 18.0   (2.97) 3.4 ! (1.62) 4.8 (1.11) 90.8 (3.02) 58.9 (3.11) 22.5   (1.75) 57.4 (3.47) 17.5   (1.85)
76–100 percent 81.7 (3.87) 83.1 (5.61) 68.1 (9.69) 23.9   (4.40)   (†) 5.4 (1.05) 91.4 (5.08) 60.8 (9.48) 35.0   (6.03) 59.5 (9.38) 26.1   (5.80)
2005                                                    
Total6 68.4 (0.99) 83.8 (0.63) 71.3 (0.97) 29.4   (0.98) 7.7   (0.53) 13.6 (0.53) 92.5 (0.60) 66.4 (0.94) 32.9   (0.91) 64.3 (0.97) 27.4   (0.89)
Sex                                                    
Male 66.8 (1.04) 81.9 (0.70) 68.0 (1.09) 28.0   (1.02) 7.7   (0.57) 14.0 (0.62) 91.0 (0.68) 62.7 (1.08) 34.9   (0.90) 60.3 (1.08) 28.2   (0.86)
Female 69.8 (1.06) 85.6 (0.66) 74.4 (0.98) 30.8   (1.05) 7.8   (0.55) 13.2 (0.58) 93.9 (0.58) 70.0 (0.99) 31.0   (1.09) 68.0 (1.03) 26.5   (1.10)
                                                     
Race/ethnicity                                                    
White 66.8 (1.17) 83.9 (0.79) 72.4 (1.17) 32.0   (1.18) 8.5   (0.65) 15.3 (0.61) 92.8 (0.67) 67.4 (1.06) 34.8   (0.87) 65.3 (1.10) 29.0   (0.85)
Black 75.4 (1.60) 85.0 (1.04) 69.3 (1.63) 17.9   (1.61) 5.8   (0.83) 5.5 (0.53) 93.7 (0.60) 63.6 (1.61) 25.8   (2.31) 62.0 (1.60) 21.3   (2.25)
Hispanic 70.2 (1.79) 81.0 (1.16) 63.1 (1.55) 20.4   (1.42) 3.4   (0.48) 6.4 (0.63) 89.2 (1.22) 59.3 (2.09) 23.4   (1.66) 57.2 (2.28) 18.8   (1.63)
Asian/Pacific Islander 65.4 (2.71) 87.1 (1.29) 79.5 (2.94) 48.8   (2.84) 12.9   (1.21) 30.0 (1.63) 92.4 (1.83) 79.7 (1.60) 50.3   (2.35) 75.5 (2.16) 42.9   (2.49)
American Indian/Alaska Native 70.1 (4.82) 73.8 (3.36) 67.2 (3.54) 15.8   (3.07)   (†) (†) 91.5 (1.92) 48.9 (4.70) 18.1   (3.82) 47.6 (4.69)   (†)
                                                     
Student with disabilities (SD) status                                                    
SD7  49.5 (2.05) 47.8 (1.83) 27.9 (1.67) 6.0   (0.71) 2.2   (0.46) 2.0 (0.54) 71.6 (1.58) 26.6 (1.88) 13.2   (1.27) 24.8 (1.75) 6.6   (0.74)
Non-SD 69.9 (1.04) 87.0 (0.68) 75.2 (0.98) 31.6   (1.07) 8.3   (0.56) 14.7 (0.56) 94.4 (0.57) 69.9 (0.92) 34.5   (0.94) 67.8 (0.96) 29.0   (0.93)
                                                     
English language learner (ELL) status                                                    
ELL 63.7 (2.75) 70.1 (2.10) 48.0 (2.97) 13.8   (1.85) 3.9   (0.88) 6.1 (1.79) 81.4 (1.96) 46.1 (2.61) 20.2   (2.40) 43.0 (2.85) 13.8   (2.02)
Non-ELL 68.4 (1.00) 84.3 (0.67) 72.0 (1.00) 30.0   (1.02) 7.9   (0.54) 13.8 (0.54) 92.9 (0.62) 67.0 (0.97) 33.2   (0.93) 64.9 (1.01) 27.6   (0.91)
                                                     
School type                                                    
Traditional public 67.6 (1.09) 83.0 (0.71) 69.3 (1.07) 27.6   (0.92) 7.7   (0.55) 12.5 (0.53) 92.1 (0.59) 64.2 (0.87) 30.6   (0.94) 62.0 (0.85) 24.8   (0.86)
Public charter 84.5 (5.72) 78.1 (7.06) 69.3 (11.47)   (†)   (†) (†) 91.6 (2.47) 72.2 (11.52) 36.7 ! (13.63) 67.0 (10.91) 33.9 ! (13.67)
Private 74.4 (3.27) 91.2 (1.41) 89.6 (1.88) 45.3   (3.93) 8.3   (1.84) 23.9 (2.45) 96.1 (2.31) 86.8 (2.79) 53.8   (2.46) 85.1 (3.10) 49.9   (2.72)
                                                     
Percentage of students eligible for                                                    
free or reduced-price lunch                                                    
0–25 percent 65.4 (1.85) 82.2 (1.41) 70.9 (1.73) 34.0   (1.64) 10.2   (0.97) 15.7 (0.92) 92.8 (1.01) 68.4 (1.34) 35.3   (1.40) 65.9 (1.39) 28.7   (1.32)
26–50 percent 69.5 (1.93) 84.2 (1.04) 69.8 (1.37) 23.4   (1.30) 6.7   (0.93) 10.8 (0.58) 93.0 (0.97) 61.0 (1.60) 26.9   (1.44) 59.1 (1.72) 21.8   (1.42)
51–75 percent 74.3 (2.78) 82.2 (1.99) 66.3 (2.80) 19.2   (2.26) 3.3   (0.91) 6.9 (0.86) 86.7 (2.05) 57.0 (2.80) 20.9   (2.38) 54.1 (2.90) 16.1   (2.06)
76–100 percent 75.1 (3.73) 88.2 (1.61) 69.4 (3.05) 18.2   (2.90) 2.8 ! (0.87) 4.9 (0.90) 90.2 (3.04) 67.6 (3.04) 21.2   (3.16) 64.1 (3.60) 17.8   (2.80)
2009                                                    
Total6 68.9 (0.94) 88.3 (0.53) 75.8 (0.92) 35.3   (0.84) 10.8   (0.49) 15.9 (0.66) 95.6 (0.40) 70.4 (0.75) 36.1   (1.01) 68.3 (0.77) 30.1   (0.87)
Sex                                                    
Male 68.5 (0.98) 86.6 (0.75) 73.8 (1.09) 33.8   (1.02) 10.7   (0.51) 16.1 (0.75) 94.9 (0.45) 67.4 (0.95) 39.2   (1.29) 65.0 (0.91) 31.9   (1.08)
Female 69.3 (1.01) 89.9 (0.54) 77.8 (0.91) 36.6   (0.89) 10.9   (0.58) 15.7 (0.69) 96.2 (0.43) 73.4 (0.76) 33.0   (0.92) 71.4 (0.84) 28.3   (0.85)
                                                     
Race/ethnicity                                                    
White 67.0 (1.09) 88.8 (0.73) 77.4 (1.08) 37.9   (0.98) 11.6   (0.64) 17.5 (0.69) 95.6 (0.51) 71.5 (0.87) 37.6   (1.24) 68.9 (0.93) 31.4   (1.04)
Black 77.2 (1.26) 88.4 (1.07) 70.6 (1.69) 22.7   (1.29) 7.9   (1.04) 6.1 (0.59) 96.3 (0.56) 65.3 (1.80) 26.9   (1.72) 64.3 (1.74) 21.9   (1.48)
Hispanic 75.4 (1.60) 87.0 (0.96) 71.4 (1.81) 26.5   (1.36) 7.5   (0.77) 8.6 (0.64) 94.8 (0.67) 65.7 (1.41) 28.6   (1.33) 64.2 (1.45) 22.7   (1.19)
Asian/Pacific Islander 53.3 (3.52) 86.1 (1.47) 83.0 (2.59) 60.5   (2.88) 17.6   (1.69) 42.2 (3.11) 95.8 (0.95) 84.8 (1.72) 61.1   (2.35) 82.7 (1.93) 54.4   (2.77)
American Indian/Alaska Native 74.8 (5.85) 81.6 (4.09) 66.6 (4.12) 18.5   (2.98)   (†) (†) 94.5 (1.64) 44.5 (4.78) 19.8   (3.89) 43.9 (4.77) 13.6   (2.87)
                                                     
Student with disabilities (SD) status                                                    
SD7  56.0 (1.63) 61.1 (1.82) 39.5 (1.67) 9.7   (1.26) 3.9   (0.57) 3.0 (0.55) 82.4 (1.30) 35.4 (1.69) 19.3   (1.67) 33.8 (1.67) 12.0   (1.51)
Non-SD 70.1 (0.97) 90.7 (0.53) 79.1 (0.93) 37.6   (0.90) 11.4   (0.53) 17.1 (0.71) 96.8 (0.41) 73.6 (0.75) 37.6   (1.06) 71.4 (0.79) 31.7   (0.94)
                                                     
English language learner (ELL) status                                                    
ELL 73.3 (2.33) 76.2 (1.99) 58.1 (2.54) 19.4   (2.36) 4.4   (1.03) 4.7 (0.87) 86.9 (2.12) 47.4 (2.99) 23.2   (2.41) 43.8 (3.03) 15.4   (2.02)
Non-ELL 68.8 (0.95) 88.5 (0.54) 76.2 (0.93) 35.6   (0.86) 10.9   (0.50) 16.2 (0.67) 95.7 (0.41) 70.9 (0.77) 36.3   (1.02) 68.7 (0.79) 30.3   (0.89)
                                                     
School type                                                    
Traditional public 68.2 (0.99) 88.1 (0.53) 74.9 (0.96) 34.0   (0.97) 10.7   (0.51) 15.4 (0.73) 95.3 (0.44) 68.9 (0.75) 34.6   (1.03) 66.9 (0.78) 28.8   (0.83)
Public charter 79.0 (4.21) 86.9 (3.57) 77.8 (6.64) 34.1   (9.95)   (†) (†) 94.0 (1.92) 56.8 (11.13) 40.0   (7.36) 55.7 (10.77) 23.2 ! (7.52)
Private 74.7 (2.95) 90.0 (3.98) 84.6 (4.01) 47.5   (3.76) 12.5   (1.86) 23.3 (2.05) 98.6 (0.28) 87.4 (1.87) 49.5   (3.73) 83.3 (2.67) 43.9   (3.77)
                                                     
Percentage of students eligible for                                                    
free or reduced-price lunch                                                    
0–25 percent 61.3 (1.72) 89.7 (0.82) 80.1 (1.75) 43.1   (1.88) 14.8   (1.03) 22.6 (1.37) 96.4 (1.03) 76.3 (1.58) 46.5   (2.02) 74.9 (1.70) 40.4   (2.07)
26–50 percent 70.9 (1.82) 88.4 (0.87) 74.7 (1.38) 29.7   (1.44) 8.6   (0.80) 11.8 (0.76) 94.5 (0.98) 64.0 (1.52) 27.6   (1.79) 61.6 (1.59) 22.2   (1.54)
51–75 percent 75.8 (1.85) 87.4 (1.45) 69.3 (3.35) 25.4   (1.52) 7.5   (1.14) 9.8 (1.05) 95.6 (0.72) 65.6 (2.03) 29.4   (2.56) 64.2 (1.97) 22.7   (2.12)
76–100 percent 80.1 (3.75) 88.8 (2.26) 70.7 (4.02) 25.5   (2.80) 5.1   (1.08) 7.5 (1.34) 95.6 (1.42) 69.4 (3.68) 26.6   (3.07) 68.2 (3.69) 22.8   (2.97)
                                                     
School locale                                                    
City 72.5 (1.85) 89.1 (0.91) 74.9 (2.06) 36.7   (1.98) 10.6   (0.91) 15.5 (1.42) 96.4 (0.53) 74.0 (1.59) 38.8   (1.99) 70.8 (1.97) 31.6   (1.97)
Suburban 62.8 (1.62) 89.4 (1.27) 78.7 (1.79) 39.0   (1.71) 13.1   (0.97) 19.5 (1.12) 97.1 (0.30) 76.7 (1.14) 43.8   (1.42) 75.4 (1.04) 38.6   (1.21)
Town 76.9 (2.25) 86.4 (1.08) 71.4 (3.00) 30.1   (2.40) 8.4   (1.25) 10.7 (1.02) 92.2 (2.23) 62.3 (1.84) 24.0   (2.45) 60.4 (1.87) 18.9   (1.94)
Rural 70.2 (2.19) 86.3 (0.95) 74.5 (1.38) 30.0   (1.35) 8.6   (1.12) 13.5 (0.87) 93.7 (1.66) 59.6 (1.82) 26.0   (1.95) 57.2 (1.77) 19.7   (1.41)
—Not available.
†Not applicable.
#Rounds to zero.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
‡Reporting standards not met (too few cases for a reliable estimate).
1 Percentages are for students who earned at least one Carnegie credit.
2 Excludes pre-algebra.
3 Percentages are for students who earned at least one-half of a Carnegie credit in a course that includes a focus on at least one of the listed content areas.
4 Percentages are for students who earned at least one Carnegie credit each in biology and chemistry.
5 Percentages are for students who earned at least one Carnegie credit each in biology, chemistry, and physics.
6 Includes other racial/ethnic groups not shown separately, as well as students for whom information on race/ethnicity or sex was missing.
7 SD data include both students with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and students with a plan under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (a “504 plan”). IEPs are only for students who require specialized instruction, whereas 504 plans apply to students who require accommodations but may not require specialized instruction.
NOTE: For a transcript to be included in the analyses, it had to meet three requirements: (1) the graduate received either a standard or honors diploma, (2) the graduate’s transcript contained 16 or more Carnegie credits, and (3) the graduate’s transcript contained more than 0 Carnegie credits in English courses. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1990, 2000, 2005, and 2009 High School Transcript Study (HSTS). (This table was prepared September 2012.)

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