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The Nation's Report Card: A First Look:
2013 Mathematics and Reading
National Assessment of Educational Progress at Grades 4 and 8 

November 2013

Author: National Center for Education Statistics

Download The Nation's Report Card: A First Look: 2013 Mathematics and Reading PDF File (4.4 MB)


Cover image of The Nation's Report Card: A First Look: 2013 Mathematics and Reading report.

A New Approach to Reporting

Are the nation’s students making progress in mathematics and reading?

Explore student performance in detail.

See what questions student performing at the Proficient level were able to answer.

Explore state results in detail.

What other information is available online?

A New Approach to Reporting

NAEP results are now easier than ever to access in a new interactive website at http://nationsreportcard.gov/reading_math_2013. The results from the 2013 assessments in mathematics and reading at grades 4 and 8 highlighted in the report can be explored in more detail with interactive graphics, downloadable data, and enhanced features for viewing state results.


Are the nation’s students making progress in mathematics and reading?

Fourth- and eighth-graders are showing improvement on the NAEP mathematics and reading assessments. Mathematics scores were higher in 2013 than in all previous assessment years at grades 4 and 8. Reading scores were higher in 2013 in comparison to all previous assessments at grade 8, and all but the 2011 assessment at grade 4.

Change in average scores for fourth- and eighth-grade students assessed in NAEP mathematics and reading: Various years, 1990–2013


MATHEMATICS

READING
Image of a bar graph showing the change for fourth grade from 1990 to 2013 was 28 points and the change from 2011 to 2013 was 1 point.
Image of a bar graph showing the change for eighth grade from 1990 to 2013 was 22 points and the change from 2011 to 2013 was 1 point.
Image of a bar graph showing the change for fourth grade from 1992 to 2013 was 5 points and the change from 2011 to 2013 was not significantly different.
Image of a bar graph showing the change for eighth grade from 1992 to 2013 was 8 points and the change from 2011 to 2013 was 2 points.
4th Grade 8th Grade 4th Grade 8th Grade
242 (2013)
241* (2011)
213* (1990)
285 (2013)
284* (2011)
263* (1990)
222 (2013)
221 (2011)
217* (1992)

268 (2013)
265* (2011)
260* (1992)

 

Image of a key showing the change in NAEP mathematics scores between years. Image of a key showing the change in NAEP reading scores between years.
* Significantly different (p < .05) from 2013.
NOTE: Accommodations were not permitted in NAEP mathematics assessments prior to 1996, and in NAEP reading assessments prior to 1998. Score-point changes are calculated using unrounded average scores as opposed to the rounded scores displayed under each column.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), various years, 1990–2013 Mathematics and Reading Assessments.

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Explore student performance in detail.

The NAEP 2013 online report card provides in-depth information on progress made by lower and higher performing students and by student groups based on selected demographic characteristics such as race/ethnicity, gender, and eligibility for the National School Lunch Program. Changes in student demographics and achievement gaps are also explored at http://nationsreportcard.gov/reading_math_2013/#/performance-overview.

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See what questions students performing at the Proficient level were able to answer.

NAEP item maps are helpful for gaining a better understanding of what students performing at different achievement levels are able to do. Learn more about item maps and try sample questions at http://nationsreportcard.gov/reading_math_2013/#/what-knowledge.

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Explore state results in detail.

See which states are making gains and use the new interactive state graphics to view detailed results for up to four states at a time at http://nationsreportcard.gov/reading_math_2013/#/state-performance.

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What other information is available online?

Results from the 2013 NAEP mathematics and reading assessments can be explored in more detail at http://nationsreportcard.gov/reading_math_2013.The NAEP website features a number of applications designed to give users the ability to analyze NAEP data, explore assessment questions, and compare state results at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/naeptools.aspx.

Use the NAEP Data Explorer to see additional results based on information collected from school, teacher, and student questionnaires and create custom tables, graphics, and maps with results for the nation or states.

Use the NAEP Questions Tool to view more than 2,000 questions released in nine subject areas along with actual student responses, scoring guides, and data on how students performed on each question.

Use the State Comparison feature to create tables and maps comparing average state scores for students overall and for selected student groups.

View State Profiles highlighting information on a state’s student and school characteristics, and a summary of its performance on NAEP assessments.

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Download The Nation's Report Card: A First Look: 2013 Mathematics and Reading PDF File (4.4 MB)

NCES 2014-451  Ordering information

Suggested Citation
National Center for Education Statistics (2013). The Nation's Report Card: A First Look: 2013 Mathematics and Reading  (NCES 2014–451). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C.

For more information, see the results of the Mathematics and Reading assessments on the Nation's Report Card website.  

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Last updated 31 October 2013 (RH)