The average reading and mathematics scores on the long-term trend National Assessment of Educational Progress were higher in 2008 than in the early 1970s for 9- and 13-year-olds; scores for 17-year-olds were not measurably different over the same period.

The long-term trend National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has provided information on the reading and mathematics achievement of 9-, 13-, and 17-year-olds in the United States every 2 to 5 years since 1971 for reading and 1973 for mathematics. Since 1990, reading and mathematics have been administered in the same years. These results may differ from the main NAEP results presented in indicators 12 and 13 since the content of the long-term trend assessment is intended to measure the same knowledge and skills to allow for comparisons over a long period of time, while the main NAEP undergoes changes periodically to reflect current curricula and emerging standards (see supplemental note 4). Several administrative changes were initiated in the 2004 long-term trend assessment that have been carried forward to 2008, including allowing accommodations for students with disabilities and for English language learners. To ensure that any changes in scores were due to actual changes in student performance and not due to changes in the assessment itself, two assessments were conducted in 2004—one based on the previous assessment and one based on the modified assessment. In 2008, only the modified assessment was used. Both scores are shown for 2004 with the results for all assessments prior to 2004 labeled as the original assessment. The results for the modified 2004 and 2008 assessments were labeled as the revised assessment.

NAEP long-term trend results indicate that the reading and mathematics achievement of 9- and 13-year-olds improved between the early 1970s and 2008 (see tables A-14-1 and A-14-2). In reading, 9-year-olds scored higher in 2008 than in any previous assessment year, scoring 4 points higher than in 2004 and 12 points higher than in 1971. The average reading score for 13-year-olds in 2008 was higher than that in both 2004 and 1971, but the 2008 score was not significantly different from some of the scores in the intervening assessment years. In mathematics, the average scores for 9- and 13-year-olds were higher in 2008 than in all previous assessment years. The 2008 average mathematics score for 9-year-olds was a 4-point increase over the 2004 score and a 24-point increase over the 1973 score. Thirteen-year-olds scored 3 points higher in 2008 than in 2004 and 15 points higher in 2008 than in 1973 in mathematics.

The performance of 17-year-olds on the 2008 reading and mathematics assessments was not measurably different from their performance in the early 1970s. The average reading score for 17-year-olds was higher in 2008 than in 2004 but was not significantly different from the score in 1971. In mathematics, the average score for 17-year-olds in 2008 was not significantly different from the scores in either 2004 or 1973.

White and Black 9-year-olds had higher average reading scores in 2008 than they had in all previous assessment years. The 2008 average reading score for 9-year-old White students was 14 points higher in 2008 than in 1971, and the 2008 reading score for Black students was 34 points higher in 2008 than in 1971. At age 13, White and Black students had higher reading scores in 2008 than in 2004 and 1971. Between 1971 and 2008, White students showed a 7-point gain and Black students showed a 25-point gain. At age 17, the average reading score increased for White students from 2004 to 2008 but showed no significant change for Black students over this period. Between 1971 and 2008, White 17-year-old students showed a gain of 4 points, while Blacks showed a gain of 28 points. The average reading score for Hispanic 9-year-olds was higher in 2008 than in all previous assessment years. Hispanic students at ages 13 and 17 scored higher in reading in 2008 than in 1975.

At age 9, the average mathematics score increased from 2004 to 2008 for White students but showed no significant change for Black students. In comparison to mathematics scores in 1973, mathematics scores in 2008 were 25 points higher for White 9-year-olds and 34 points higher for Black 9-year-olds. At age 13, neither White nor Black students' mathematics scores showed a significant change from 2004 to 2008. However, from 1973 to 2008, White 13-year-olds gained 16 points, compared to a 34-point gain for Black 13-year-olds. Similarly, at age 17, neither White nor Black students' scores showed a significant change between 2004 and 2008, whereas between 1973 and 2008, the score for White students increased 4 points and the score for Black students increased 17 points. At each age, there was no significant change in mathematics scores for Hispanic students from 2004 to 2008, but their scores did increase between 1973 and 2008.

Technical Notes

The long-term trend NAEP score ranges from 0 to 500. Scores include both public and private school students. Score-point changes are based on the difference of unrounded scores, as opposed to the rounded scores shown in the figures. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. All comparisons referring to 2004 are based on the revised assessment scores. For more information on race/ethnicity, see supplemental note 1; for more information on NAEP, see supplemental note 4.