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Mathematics Literacy: School Poverty Indicator

Average Scores

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Table M10. Average scores of U.S. 15-year-old public school students on PISA mathematics literacy scale, by percentage of students in enrolled schools eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, based on principals' reports: 2012
Percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch Average score s.e.
U.S. average 481 ** 3.6
Less than 10 percent 540 * 7.8
10 to 24.9 percent 513 * 5.7
25 to 49.9 percent 506 *** 6.4
50 to 74.9 percent 464 * 4.6
75 percent or more 432 * 7.2
OECD average 494 *** 0.5
* p<.05. Significantly different from both the U.S. and OECD averages at the .05 level of statistical significance.
** p<.05. Significantly different from the OECD average at the .05 level of statistical significance.
*** p<.05. Significantly different from the U.S. average at the .05 level of statistical significance.
NOTE: Scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 1,000. The National School Lunch Program provides free or reduced-price lunch for students meeting certain income guidelines. The percentage of students receiving such lunch is an indicator of the socioeconomic level of families served by the school. Data in this table are based on principals' responses to a question in the school questionnaire that asked the approximate percentage of eligible students in the school during the previous school year. The OECD average is the average of the national percentages of the OECD member countries, with each country weighted equally. Standard error is noted by s.e.Free or reduced-price lunch data are for public schools only.
SOURCE: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), 2012.