The percentages of high school graduates who took mathematics courses in geometry, algebra II/trigonometry, analysis/precalculus, statistics/probability, and calculus while in high school were higher in 2009 than in 1990.
The percentages of high school graduates who took mathematics courses in geometry, algebra II/trigonometry, analysis/precalculus, statistics/probability, and calculus while in high school were higher in 2009 than in 1990 (see table A-31-1). Similarly, the percentages of high school graduates who took science courses in biology, chemistry, physics, both biology and chemistry, or in all three of these science courses while in high school were higher in 2009 than in 1990. For example, while in high school, 16 percent of 2009 graduates versus 7 percent of 1990 graduates took calculus, and 30 percent of 2009 graduates took biology, chemistry, and physics in high school versus 19 percent of 1990 graduates. In contrast, 69 percent of 2009 graduates took algebra I in high school versus 77 percent of 1990 graduates. Looking at more recent changes, the percentages of graduates who took mathematics and science courses were higher in 2009 than in 2005 for all courses except algebra I and the combination of biology, chemistry, and physics, for which no measurable differences were found.
Across subgroups, the percentages of high school graduates who had taken calculus and biology, chemistry, and physics were generally higher in 2009 than in 1990. For example, 9 percent of Hispanic 2009 high school graduates had taken calculus versus 4 percent of 1990 graduates. Also, 28 percent of female 2009 graduates had taken biology, chemistry, and physics versus 16 percent of 1990 graduates. Comparing 2009 with 2005, the percentages of graduates who had taken these courses were higher for some subgroups. For instance, 12 percent of 2009 graduates with disabilities had taken biology, chemistry, and physics versus 7 percent of 2005 graduates.
For both calculus and biology, chemistry, and physics, higher percentages of certain 2009 graduates took these courses while in high school than their peers in other subgroups. For example, higher percentages of Asian/ Pacific Islander (42 percent) and White graduates (18 percent) had taken calculus than their Black (6 percent) and Hispanic peers (9 percent). Calculus coursetaking was also more prevalent for private than public school graduates and for graduates of suburban high schools than their peers from city, town, and rural schools. Among 2009 graduates who had taken biology, chemistry, and physics, a higher percentage of males than females had taken these courses (32 vs. 28 percent). Also, a higher percentage of high school graduates who attended schools with 25 percent or fewer students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (low-poverty schools) had taken these courses than those who attended schools with more than 75 percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (high-poverty schools).
For 2009 high school graduates, higher average scale scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 12th-grade mathematics assessment were associated with higher levels of mathematics coursetaking in high school (see table A-31-2). For example, graduates who had taken only algebra I or below had an average scale score of 114 (on a scale of 0–300), whereas graduates who had taken calculus had an average scale score of 193. In addition, at each mathematics level in 2009, certain graduates had higher average scale scores than their peers in other subgroups. Looking at graduates who had taken calculus, the average scale score was higher for males than females (197 vs. 190). Average scale scores were also higher for calculus takers who were Asian/Pacific Islander (203) and White (194) than for their Hispanic (179) and Black (170) peers. Among calculus takers, the average scale score for those who had attended low-poverty schools was 199 versus a score of 163 for their peers at high-poverty schools.
Technical Notes
Data reflect only the percentage of graduates who earned course credit while in high school (grades 9–12). For a transcript to be included in the analyses, it had to meet three requirements: (1) the graduate received either a standard or honors diploma, (2) the graduate's transcript contained 16 or more Carnegie credits, and (3) the graduate's transcript contained more than 0 Carnegie credits in English courses. Coursetaking estimates should be considered within the context of course access, which can vary across schools. Estimates for public schools exclude charter schools. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. For more information on race/ethnicity, free or reduced-price lunch, or locale, see Appendix C – Commonly Used Measures. For more information on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) or the High School Transcript Study (HSTS), see Appendix B – Guide to Sources.
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