A new report released today from the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) shows that average scores of the nation's fourth, eighth, and twelfth graders are low but have shown improvements in the fourth and eighth grade from 1994. Lower-performing students at grade four and lower- and higher-performing students at grade eight showed an increase in average scale scores, whereas no overall changes were seen for 12th graders.

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) survey, The Nation's Report Card: U.S. History 2001, the improvements for fourth-graders were seen among students scoring in the tenth and 25th percentiles of performance. Improvements were more widespread for eighth-graders with increases at the 25th, 75th, and 90th percentiles.

While both Black and White fourth-graders' scores improved, Black students' scores improved more than White students' scores in the fourth grade. In addition, while the average score for 12th-graders was essentially unchanged from 1994, the average score for twelfth-grade Hispanic students showed an increase from 1994.

"These results show that the performance gap is closing between White and Black students at grade 4 and White and Hispanic students at grade 12," said Gary W. Phillips, deputy commissioner of NCES.

The findings from this new history assessment were presented at a news conference at the Department of Education with Deputy Commissioner Gary Phillips, Secretary of Education Rod Paige, Diane Ravitch of the National Assessment Governing Board, and John Patrick of Indiana University.

In addition to average scale scores, student performance on NAEP is also reported as percents of students performing at or above three achievement levels, Basic, Proficient, and Advanced. The scale scores show what students know and can do and the achievement levels are intended to describe standards for what students should know and be able to do.

The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), the independent body that sets policy for NAEP, developed the three NAEP achievement levels. NAGB's position is that every student should score Proficient or above.

"On this NAEP history assessment conducted in 2001, two out of 10 students in grades four and eight, and one out of ten students in grade 12 reached Proficient," Phillips said. "In addition, the typical, or average student, scored at the Basic level in grades 4 and 8, and scored below Basic at grade 12."

At the fourth grade, the percentage at or above Basic rose from 64 percent to 67 percent. Eighteen percent of students were at or above Proficient and 2 percent were at Advanced. At grade eight, there were increases in the percentage of students who scored at or above each achievement level. Sixty-four percent of eighth-grade students were at or above Basic, 17 percent were at or above Proficient and 2 percent were at Advanced. There were no changes from 1994 to 2001 in the percentages of twelfth-grade students attaining the three achievement levels. Forty-three percent of twelfth-grade students were at or above Basic, 11 percent were at or above Proficient and 1 percent were at Advanced.

The report also looks at differences in level of parental education and student performance at grades eight and 12. At both grades, the higher the parental education level reported, the higher the average score attained. At grade eight, students who reported that at least one parent graduated from college had higher average scores in 2001 than in 1994. At grade 12, there was an increase in the average scores of students who reported that neither parent finished high school.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress is administered by NCES, an agency within the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement. For further information on The Nation's Report Card: U.S. History 2001, please visit NCES's NAEP website at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard. All NAEP reports can be ordered by calling toll-free 1-877-4ED-Pubs (1-877-433-7827), TTY/TTD 1-877-576-7734; e-mailing at edpubs@edpubs.ed.gov; or via the Internet at http://edpubs.ed.gov. There will be a live web chat at 2:00 p.m. EDT on May 9 that can be accessed at http://nces.ed.gov/whatsnew/statchat

Statements from Deputy Commissioner Phillips and Secretary Paige can be accessed at: