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Percentage of students, by mathematics achievement levels and race/ethnicity, grade 8: 1990–2003

			Below Basic		At Basic		At Proficient		At Advanced		At or above Basic		At or above Proficient
Grade 8
White
Accommodations not permitted	1990		40	*	42		16	*	2	*	60	*	18	*
	1992		32	*	42		22	*	4	*	68	*	26	*
	1996		27	*	43		25	*	5	*	73	*	30	*
	2000		23	*	42		28	*	6		77	*	34	*
Accommodations permitted	1996		27	*	43		25	*	5	*	73	*	30	*
	2000		24	*	42		28	*	6		76	*	34	*
	2003		20		42		30		7		80		37
Black
Accommodations not permitted	1990		78	*	17	*	5		#		22	*	5	*
	1992		80	*	18	*	2	*	#		20	*	2	*
	1996		73	*	23	*	4	*	#		27	*	5	*
	2000		69	*	26	*	5	*	#		31	*	5	*
Accommodations permitted	1996		75	*	21	*	4	*	#		25	*	4	*
	2000		69	*	26	*	5	*	#		31	*	5	*
	2003		61		32		7		1		39		7
Hispanic
Accommodations not permitted	1990		66	*	27		7		1	*	34	*	7	*
	1992		65	*	28	*	6	*	1		35	*	7	*
	1996		61	*	31		8		1		39	*	9
	2000		59	*	32		8		1		41	*	9
Accommodations permitted	1996		61	*	31	*	7	*	1		39	*	8	*
	2000		59	*	33		8	*	#	*	41	*	8	*
	2003		52		36		10		1		48		12
Asian/Pacific Islander
Accommodations not permitted	1990		36	*	36		23		6	*	64	*	29	*
	1992		24		33		30		14		76		43
	1996		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
	2000		26		33		29		12		74		41
Accommodations permitted	1996		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
	2000		25		34		29		12		75		41
	2003		22		35		31		13		78		43
American Indian/Alaska Native
Accommodations not permitted	1990		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
	1992		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
	1996		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
	2000		58		32		8		2		42		9
Accommodations permitted	1996		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
	2000		53		37		8		2		47		10
	2003		48		37		13		2		52		15
Other1
Accommodations not permitted	1990		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
	1992		53	*	36		10	*	#		47	*	11	*
	1996		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
	2000		46	*	36		14		5		54	*	18	*
Accommodations permitted	1996		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡		‡
	2000		44		34		17		4		56		22
	2003		27		44		24		5		73		29

# 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 8 Asian/Pacific Islander results in 1996. 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 8, the percentages of White students, Black students, and Hispanic students at or above Basic and Proficient 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 percentages of White and Asian/Pacific Islander students at Advanced were higher in 2003 than in 1990.

See the national mathematics achievement-level results by race/ethnicity for grade 4.

Return to national subgroup results page.

Return to main results.

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Last updated 20 October 2003 (SW)