Average mathematics proficiency, by age and by selected characteristics of students: 1978 to 1992

Table 115.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
     Selected     |           9-year-olds            |          13-year-olds            |          17-year-olds\1\
 characteristics  |__________________________________|__________________________________|__________________________________
   of students    | 1978 | 1982 | 1986 | 1990 | 1992 | 1978 | 1982 | 1986 | 1990 | 1992 | 1978 | 1982 | 1986 | 1990 | 1992
__________________|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______
        1         |  2   |  3   |  4   |  5   |  6   |  7   |  8   |  9   |  10  |  11  |  12  |  13  |  14  |  15  |  16
__________________|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______
  All students ...|218.6 |219.0 |221.7 |229.6 |229.6 |264.1 |268.6 |269.0 |270.4 |273.1 |300.4 |298.5 |302.0 |304.6 |306.7
                  |______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______
Sex               |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
  Male ...........|217.4 |217.1 |221.7 |229.1 |230.8 |263.6 |269.2 |270.0 |271.2 |274.1 |303.8 |301.5 |304.7 |306.3 |308.9
  Female .........|219.9 |220.8 |221.7 |230.2 |228.4 |264.7 |268.0 |267.9 |269.6 |272.0 |297.1 |295.6 |299.4 |302.9 |304.5
                  |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
Race/ethnicity    |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
  White ..........|224.1 |224.0 |226.9 |235.2 |235.1 |271.6 |274.4 |273.6 |276.3 |278.9 |305.9 |303.7 |307.5 |309.5 |311.9
  Black ..........|192.4 |194.9 |201.6 |208.4 |208.0 |229.6 |240.4 |249.2 |249.1 |250.2 |268.4 |271.8 |278.6 |288.5 |285.8
  Hispanic .......|202.9 |204.0 |205.4 |213.8 |211.9 |238.0 |252.4 |254.3 |254.6 |259.3 |276.3 |276.7 |283.1 |283.5 |292.2
                  |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
Television watched|      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
 per day          |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
  0 to 2 hours ...|  --- |218.0 |222.0 |231.0 |231.0 |  --- |273.0 |276.0 |277.0 |280.0 |305.0 |303.0 |310.0 |312.0 |314.0
  3 to 5 hours ...|  --- |227.0 |229.0 |234.0 |233.0 |  --- |269.0 |271.0 |271.0 |273.0 |296.0 |294.0 |299.0 |300.0 |300.0
  6 or more hours |  --- |214.0 |213.0 |221.0 |219.0 |  --- |256.0 |255.0 |258.0 |255.0 |279.0 |280.0 |282.0 |287.0 |285.0
                  |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
Reading materials |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
 in the home\2\   |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
  0 to 2 items ...|201.0 |203.0 |208.0 |196.0 |  --- |239.0 |250.0 |255.0 |240.0 |  --- |277.0 |281.0 |281.0 |271.0 |  ---
  3 items ........|221.0 |221.0 |224.0 |211.0 |  --- |260.0 |267.0 |266.0 |255.0 |  --- |296.0 |295.0 |297.0 |286.0 |  ---
  4 items ........|231.0 |231.0 |234.0 |226.0 |  --- |275.0 |279.0 |276.0 |266.0 |  --- |308.0 |306.0 |309.0 |299.0 |  ---
__________________|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______|______

\1\All participants of this age group were in school.
\2\The 4 items in the scale were: newspaper subscription; magazine subscription; more than 25 books in the home; and encyclopedia in the home.
---Data not available.

NOTE.--These test scores are from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Performers at the 150 level know some basic addition and subtraction facts, and most can add two-digit numbers without regrouping. They recognize simple situations in which addition and subtraction apply. Performers at the 200 level have considerable understanding of two-digit numbers and know some basic multiplication and division facts. Performers at the 250 level have an initial understanding of the four basic operations. They can also compare information from graphs and charts, and are developing an ability to analyze simple logical relations. Performers at the 300 level can compute decimals, simple fractions, and percents. They can identify geometric figures, measure lengths and angles, and calculate areas of rectangles. They are developing the skills to operate with signed numbers, exponents, and square roots. Performers at the 350 level can apply a range of reasoning skills to solve multi-step problems. They can solve routine problems involving fractions and percents, recognize properties of basic geometric figures, and work with exponents and square roots. Scale ranges from 0 to 500.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress, Trends in Academic Progress and NAEP 1992 Trends in Academic Progress, prepared by Educational Testing Service. (This table was prepared April 1994.)

1995 Tables and Figures

All Years of Tables and Figures

Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest