Regional and State Summary

In addition to the national results, NIES also reports performance for American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) students in terms of five regions of the country. The NIES regions are based on U.S. Census divisions and are defined to align with the distribution of the AI/AN student population. At least one state in each of these regions (12 states total) had large enough samples of AI/AN students to report results separately for the state. Find out more about NIES sampling and weighting.

On this page, explore highlights from the NIES regions and selected states, including

• Percentage of AI/AN students in each region and highlights of regional results
• AI/AN student enrollment in each selected state
• Highlights of state results
• Demographic details on the selected states

Complete regional and state results for NIES are available by using the menu below.

Regional Summary

• No change in reading or mathematics scores in NIES regions compared to 2005 or 2009

NAEP results for AI/AN students are reported for five regions of the country: Atlantic, North Central, South Central, Mountain, and Pacific. Over one-half of all AI/AN students attend schools in the South Central and Mountain Regions.

In 2011, average reading and mathematics scores for AI/AN students in each of the regions were not significantly different from the scores in either 2005 or 2009 at both grades. AI/AN students in the Atlantic, North Central, and South Central regions scored higher in 2011 in reading and mathematics at both grades than their peers in the Mountain region.

Percentage of AI/AN students by region: 2011 Region Grade 4 Grade 8 Atlantic 12 9 North Central 20 17 South Central 26 28 Mountain 28 25 Pacific 15 22 NOTE: AI/AN = American Indian/Alaska Native. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2011 National Indian Education Study.

See regional demographic tables by each grade and subject by selecting these links:

• Grade 4 Reading
• Grade 4 Mathematics
• Grade 8 Reading
• Grade 8 Mathematics

State Summary

• About 63 percent of the nation's AI/AN students attend schools in the 12 selected states

Twelve states had samples of AI/AN students large enough to report results separately at the state level in 2011. Nationally, AI/AN students comprise about 1 percent of all students, but in the 12 selected states combined, they make up about 5 percent of the overall student enrollment. About 63 percent of the nation's AI/AN students attend schools in these 12 states. In five of the states (Alaska, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and South Dakota), AI/AN students represent at least 10 percent of that state's total elementary and secondary school enrollment.

• No change in reading scores in selected states since 2009

Consistent with the national and regional results, most of the selected states showed no significant changes in average scores compared to 2005 or 2009, but a few states did as shown in the table below. In addition, AI/AN students in Oklahoma scored higher than their peers in the nation in reading and mathematics at both grades.

Average scores for AI/AN students in 2011 compared to 2005 and 2009, by selected state 

Grade	Reading		Mathematics
	2005	2009	2005	2009
4	All selected states	All selected states	Oklahoma	Montana
			Alaska
8	Montana	All selected states	Oklahoma	Minnesota
			South Dakota	Utah
			Alaska
Scored higher in 2011 than year in column header Scored lower in 2011 than year in column header No significant difference between score in 2011 and year in column header NOTE: Seven states participated in both 2005 and 2011, while 12 states participated in both 2009 and 2011.

• About 70 percent of eighth-grade AI/AN students in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota attend rural schools

The selected states differ in school and student characteristics. In the examples shown from grade 8 mathematics, states varied in the percentages of AI/AN students attending certain types of schools and schools in different locations. For example, in four of the states (Arizona, New Mexico, North Dakota, and South Dakota), the percentages of AI/AN students who attended BIE schools ranged from 16 to 29 percent, while 5 percent or less in each of the other eight states attended BIE schools.

In addition, while 50 percent of AI/AN students nationally attended schools in rural locations, the percentages in the 12 selected states ranged from 14 percent in Utah to about 70 percent in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

States also varied in the proportions of AI/AN students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch through the National School Lunch Program and in the percentages of students with disabilities and English language learners. For example, the percentages of English language learners ranged from less than 1 percent in Minnesota and Oklahoma to 28 percent in New Mexico compared to 6 percent nationally.

The following table is a preview of the state demographic information provided in the more complete tables for each grade and subject linked at the bottom of the page.

See state demographic tables by each grade and subject by selecting these links:

• Grade 4 Reading
• Grade 4 Mathematics
• Grade 8 Reading
• Grade 8 Mathematics