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-------- ACHIEVEMENT INDICATORS -------- International Performance of U.S. 15-Year-Old Students in Science and Mathematics Literacy Mathematics Achievement Reading Achievement -------- OTHER INDICATORS -------- Public School Revenues and Expenditures Dropout Rates School Crime and Safety High School Transcripts, 2005 Bachelor's Degree Recipients, 10 Years Later -------- PAST INDICATORS-------- Public School Revenues and Expenditures Dropout Rates Computer and Internet Use High School Career and Technical Education (CTE) Students Food and Exercise in Elementary Schools Trends in Adult Literacy First Generation Students in Postsecondary Education Mathematics Achievement Reading Achievement The High School Senior Class of 2004 Trends in Academic Progress Dropout Rates 2002 Dual Credit in U.S. Public High Schools Gender Differences in Postsecondary Education School Crime and Safety, 2002 International Comparisons in Science and Math Trends in Education Equity of Girls and Women Full-day and Half-day Kindergarten Reading Achievement Mathematics Achievement Dropout Rate 2001 Trends in Academic Progress International Comparisons in Reading Literacy Postsecondary Enrollment of Language Minorities Volunteer Service Civics Achievement Geography Achievement History Achievement Science Achievement Writing Achievement The High School Transcript Study Postsecondary Remedial Education Student Victimization Out-of-Field Teaching Postsecondary Attainment School Crime and Safety, 2001 Internet Access

Civics Achievement

The 1998 National assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) civics assessment provides a measure of student's knowledge and understanding of civics.

The average performance of students in each grade assessed is expressed in terms of the average score on the NAEP civics scale. The civics scale ranges from 0 to 300, and the national average at each grade is 150. The NAEP civics scale can be used to compare the performance of subgroups of students within a grade, but does not allow for comparisons of performance across grades because each grade was scaled separately.

The 1998 average civics scale scores for males and females, along with the percentage of males and females in the sample, are presented in the table below. At grades 8 and 12, female students had higher average scale scores than their male peers. At grade 4, the difference between males and females was not statistically significant. The results of the 1998 NAEP civics assessment differ from the results of previous NAEP surveys in the social studies areas, in which male students outperformed female students (particularly at the twelfth grade).*

* On the 1988 NAEP civics assessment, for example, male students outperformed female students at the twelfth grade. Before interpreting this as a change in gender patterns of performance, however, readers should note that the 1998 assessment was different from its 1988 predecessor. The 1998 assessment used both multiple-choice and open-ended questions throughout, while the 1988 assessment contained only one open-ended exercise. The results in civics also differ from those in the 1994 NAEP Geography assessment (on which males outperformed females at all three grades), and the 1994 NAEP U.S. History assessment (on which males outperformed females at grade 12).

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