Select a subgroup characteristic from the drop-down menu below to view relevant text and figures.
1 Includes courses that are generally taken before or with algebra I. Occupational and technical mathematics courses may cover basic elements of algebra and geometry.
2 Includes courses that taught both algebra II and trigonometry.
3 Taken as a separate course.
4 Includes courses such as discrete and finite mathematics.
5 Includes general life science and physical science courses.
6 Includes astronomy, geology, and marine science courses.
7 Indicates graduate completed both biology and chemistry courses.
8 Indicates graduate completed all three subjects of biology, chemistry, and physics.
NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Completion of a mathematics or science course means that the graduate earned credits in a course within the category. It differs from graduates who took a course but did not pass or complete the course. For a high school graduate to be included in the analyses, their transcript had to meet five requirements: (1) the graduate received either a standard or honors diploma, (2) the transcript had three or more years of delineated courses, (3) at least one course on the transcript was taken during the NAEP and HSTS assessment year, (4) the graduate’s transcript contained 16 or more Carnegie credits, and (5) the graduate’s transcript contained at least 1 Carnegie credit in English courses. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2009 and 2019 High School Transcript Study (HSTS). See Digest of Education Statistics 2021, tables 225.40 and 225.45.
1 Includes courses that taught both algebra II and trigonometry.
2 Indicates graduate completed all three subjects of biology, chemistry, and physics.
NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Completion of a mathematics or science course means that the graduate earned credits in a course within the category. It differs from graduates who took a course but did not pass or complete the course. For a high school graduate to be included in the analyses, their transcript had to meet five requirements: (1) the graduate received either a standard or honors diploma, (2) the transcript had three or more years of delineated courses, (3) at least one course on the transcript was taken during the NAEP and HSTS assessment year, (4) the graduate’s transcript contained 16 or more Carnegie credits, and (5) the graduate’s transcript contained at least 1 Carnegie credit in English courses. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2019 High School Transcript Study (HSTS). See Digest of Education Statistics 2021, tables 225.40 and 225.45.
1 SD estimates include both students with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and students with a plan under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (a "504 plan"). IEPs are only for students who require specialized instruction, whereas 504 plans apply to students who require accommodations but may not require specialized instruction.
2 Includes students who were formerly English learners.
3 Indicates graduate completed all three subjects of biology, chemistry, and physics.
NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Completion of a mathematics or science course means that the graduate earned credits in a course within the category. It differs from graduates who took a course but did not pass or complete the course. For a high school graduate to be included in the analyses, their transcript had to meet five requirements: (1) the graduate received either a standard or honors diploma, (2) the transcript had three or more years of delineated courses, (3) at least one course on the transcript was taken during the NAEP and HSTS assessment year, (4) the graduate’s transcript contained 16 or more Carnegie credits, and (5) the graduate’s transcript contained at least 1 Carnegie credit in English courses. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2019 High School Transcript Study (HSTS). See Digest of Education Statistics 2021, tables 225.40 and 225.45.
1 Indicates graduate completed all three subjects of biology, chemistry, and physics.
2 Information about public charter schools was collected from the schools prior to the NAEP assessment.
NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Completion of a mathematics or science course means that the graduate earned credits in a course within the category. It differs from graduates who took a course but did not pass or complete the course. For a high school graduate to be included in the analyses, their transcript had to meet five requirements: (1) the graduate received either a standard or honors diploma, (2) the transcript had three or more years of delineated courses, (3) at least one course on the transcript was taken during the NAEP and HSTS assessment year, (4) the graduate’s transcript contained 16 or more Carnegie credits, and (5) the graduate’s transcript contained at least 1 Carnegie credit in English courses.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2019 High School Transcript Study (HSTS). See Digest of Education Statistics 2021, tables 225.40 and 225.45.
1 Indicates graduate completed all three subjects of biology, chemistry, and physics.
NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Completion of a mathematics or science course means that the graduate earned credits in a course within the category. It differs from graduates who took a course but did not pass or complete the course. For a high school graduate to be included in the analyses, their transcript had to meet five requirements: (1) the graduate received either a standard or honors diploma, (2) the transcript had three or more years of delineated courses, (3) at least one course on the transcript was taken during the NAEP and HSTS assessment year, (4) the graduate’s transcript contained 16 or more Carnegie credits, and (5) the graduate’s transcript contained at least 1 Carnegie credit in English courses. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2019 High School Transcript Study (HSTS). See Digest of Education Statistics 2021, tables 225.40 and 225.45.
1 Indicates graduate completed all three subjects of biology, chemistry, and physics.
NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Completion of a mathematics or science course means that the graduate earned credits in a course within the category. It differs from graduates who took a course but did not pass or complete the course. For a high school graduate to be included in the analyses, their transcript had to meet five requirements: (1) the graduate received either a standard or honors diploma, (2) the transcript had three or more years of delineated courses, (3) at least one course on the transcript was taken during the NAEP and HSTS assessment year, (4) the graduate’s transcript contained 16 or more Carnegie credits, and (5) the graduate’s transcript contained at least 1 Carnegie credit in English courses. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2019 High School Transcript Study (HSTS). See Digest of Education Statistics 2021, tables 225.40 and 225.45.
† Not applicable.
‡ Reporting standards not met (too few cases for a reliable estimate).
1 Includes courses that taught both algebra II and trigonometry.
NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Completion of a mathematics course means that the graduate earned credits in a mathematics course within the category. It differs from graduates who took a course but did not pass or complete the course. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics assessment scale score ranges from 0 to 300. For a high school graduate to be included in the analyses, their transcript had to meet five requirements: (1) the graduate received either a standard or honors diploma, (2) the transcript had three or more years of delineated courses, (3) at least one course on the transcript was taken during the NAEP and HSTS assessment year, (4) the graduate’s transcript contained 16 or more Carnegie credits, and (5) the graduate’s transcript contained at least 1 Carnegie credit in English courses. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2019 High School Transcript Study (HSTS). See Digest of Education Statistics 2021, table 222.40.
1 For a high school graduate to be included in the analyses of this indicator, their transcript had to meet five requirements: (1) the graduate received either a standard or honors diploma, (2) the transcript had three or more years of delineated courses, (3) at least one course on the transcript was taken during the NAEP and HSTS assessment year, (4) the graduate’s transcript contained 16 or more Carnegie credits, and (5) the graduate’s transcript contained at least 1 Carnegie credit in English courses.
2 Completion of a course means that the graduate earned credits in a course within the category. It differs from graduates who took a course but did not pass or complete it.
3 Includes courses that are generally taken before or with algebra I. Occupational and technical mathematics courses may cover basic elements of algebra and geometry.
4 Includes courses such as discrete and finite mathematics.
5 Includes astronomy, geology, and marine science courses.
6 Includes general life science and physical science courses.
7 Data on the achievement gap for all 12th-grade students include all 12th-grade students who participated in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The High School Transcript Study (HSTS) was conducted in conjunction with NAEP, but only a subset of NAEP participants were included in the HSTS. For instance, only 12th-grade students who graduated in the year of the study were included in the HSTS. Thus, data on the achievement gap for graduates who had completed a certain level of mathematics coursework only include those who participated in both NAEP and HSTS. Readers are encouraged to keep these differences between the NAEP and HSTS samples in mind when interpreting the current paragraph.