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Percentage of students, by mathematics achievement levels and race/ethnicity, grade 4: 1990–2003

			Below Basic		At Basic		At Proficient		At Advanced		At or above Basic		At or above Proficient
Grade 4
White
Accommodations not permitted	1990		41	*	43		14	*	2	*	59	*	16	*
	1992		31	*	47		20	*	2	*	69	*	22	*
	1996		26	*	48	*	24	*	3	*	74	*	27	*
	2000		21	*	46		30	*	3	*	79	*	33	*
Accommodations permitted	1996		24	*	49	*	24	*	3	*	76	*	27	*
	2000		22	*	46		28	*	3	*	78	*	31	*
	2003		13		45		37		5		87		43
Black
Accommodations not permitted	1990		83	*	16	*	1	*	#		17	*	1	*
	1992		78	*	20	*	2	*	#		22	*	2	*
	1996		70	*	26	*	4	*	#		30	*	4	*
	2000		63	*	31	*	5	*	#		37	*	5	*
Accommodations permitted	1996		73	*	24	*	3	*	#		27	*	3	*
	2000		64	*	31	*	4	*	#		36	*	5	*
	2003		46		44		10		#		54		10
Hispanic
Accommodations not permitted	1990		67	*	28	*	5	*	#		33	*	5	*
	1992		66	*	29	*	5	*	#		34	*	6	*
	1996		61	*	31	*	7	*	#		39	*	7	*
	2000		54	*	37	*	8	*	#		46	*	9	*
Accommodations permitted	1996		60	*	33	*	7	*	#		40	*	7	*
	2000		58	*	34	*	7	*	#	*	42	*	7	*
	2003		38		47		15		1		62		16
Asian/Pacific Islander
Accommodations not permitted	1990		38	*	39		20	*	3		62	*	22	*
	1992		27	*	46		23	*	4	*	73	*	28	*
	1996		35	*	44		17	*	4	*	65	*	21	*
	2000		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
Accommodations permitted	1996		33	*	40		22	*	5		67	*	27	*
	2000		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
	2003		13		39		39		10		87		48
American Indian/Alaska Native
Accommodations not permitted	1990		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
	1992		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
	1996		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
	2000		55		35		11		#		45		11
Accommodations permitted	1996		43		47		10		#		57		10
	2000		60	*	32	*	8		#		40	*	8
	2003		36		47		16		1		64		17
Other1
Accommodations not permitted	1990		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
	1992		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
	1996		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
	2000		39	*	47		11	*	2		61	*	14	*
Accommodations permitted	1996		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
	2000		35	*	49		15		1		65	*	16	*
	2003		19		48		29		4		81		33

# The estimate rounds to zero. 
^‡ Reporting standards not met. Sample size is insufficient to permit a reliable estimate. Special analyses raised concerns about the accuracy and precision of national grade 4 Asian/Pacific Islander results in 2000. As a result, they are omitted.
* Significantly different from 2003.
¹ "Other" comprises students whose race, based on school records, was "other race" or, if school data was missing, who self-reported their race as "multiracial" but not "Hispanic," or did not self-report racial/ethnic information. Approximately 1 percent of students were classified as American Indian/Alaska Native or Other races.
NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.  
In addition to allowing for accommodations, the accommodations-permitted results (1996–2003) differ slightly from previous years' results and from previously reported results for 1996 and 2000, due to changes in sample weighting procedures.
Significance tests were performed using unrounded numbers. NAEP sample sizes have increased in 2003 compared to previous years, resulting in smaller detectable differences than in previous assessments.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1990, 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2003 Mathematics Assessments.   

Major Findings

• At grade 4, the percentages of White students, Black students, and Hispanic students at or above the Basic and Proficient achievement levels were higher in 2003 than in any of the previous assessment years.
• The percentages of Asian/Pacific Islander students at or above Basic and Proficient were higher in 2003 than in 1990.
• The percentage of White students at Advanced was higher in 2003 than in any of the previous assessment years.

See the national mathematics achievement-level results by race/ethnicity for grade 8.

Return to national subgroup results page.

Return to main results.

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Last updated 20 October 2003 (SW)