Digest of Education Statistics
2016 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 225.80. Percentage distribution of elementary and secondary school children, by average grades and selected child and school characteristics: 2003, 2007, and 2012
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Selected child or school characteristic Distribution of children, by parental reports of average grades in all subjects
2003 2007 2012
Mostly A's Mostly B's Mostly C's Mostly D's
or F's
Mostly A's Mostly B's Mostly C's Mostly D's
or F's
Mostly A's Mostly B's Mostly C's Mostly D's
or F's
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10     11     12     13
All students 43.6   (0.62) 37.0   (0.58) 15.9   (0.52) 3.6   (0.24) 47.2   (0.75) 35.0   (0.80) 14.1   (0.72) 3.8   (0.36) 49.2   (0.53) 35.6   (0.57) 12.8   (0.37) 2.5   (0.21)
                                                                         
Sex of child                                                                        
Male 36.4   (0.72) 38.6   (0.86) 19.8   (0.74) 5.2   (0.40) 40.3   (1.01) 37.1   (1.17) 17.0   (1.25) 5.7   (0.64) 42.9   (0.74) 37.7   (0.78) 16.1   (0.58) 3.3   (0.34)
Female 51.0   (0.84) 35.3   (0.76) 11.9   (0.61) 1.9   (0.24) 54.7   (0.99) 32.7   (0.97) 11.0   (0.62) 1.7   (0.24) 55.9   (0.82) 33.3   (0.80) 9.3   (0.51) 1.5   (0.22)
                                                                         
Race/ethnicity of child                                                                        
White 47.8   (0.86) 35.2   (0.75) 14.0   (0.63) 3.1   (0.25) 53.9   (0.97) 32.2   (0.91) 11.7   (0.68) 2.1   (0.27) 53.6   (0.74) 33.5   (0.77) 10.8   (0.48) 2.1   (0.22)
Black 34.5   (1.75) 39.5   (1.65) 20.9   (1.33) 5.0   (0.82) 28.3   (2.04) 40.5   (2.75) 24.9   (2.89) 6.3   (1.41) 37.0   (1.88) 39.7   (1.97) 19.9   (1.19) 3.4   (0.75)
Hispanic 34.9   (1.14) 42.3   (1.24) 18.6   (1.03) 4.2   (0.48) 40.8   (1.68) 39.2   (1.66) 14.1   (1.24) 6.0   (1.15) 43.2   (1.09) 39.9   (1.05) 14.3   (0.83) 2.6   (0.41)
Asian/Pacific Islander 62.0   (3.47) 25.5   (2.76) 11.3   (3.06)   (†) 68.7   (4.52) 25.7   (4.29) 3.5   (1.03)   (†) 60.6   (2.70) 32.9   (2.79) 5.8   (0.97) 0.7 ! (0.27)
Asian   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 74.5   (3.67) 20.7   (3.60) 3.2 ! (1.10)   (†) 63.2   (2.82) 31.8   (2.86) 4.6   (0.98) 0.4 ! (0.20)
Pacific Islander   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 23.7 ! (7.70) 43.4   (10.65) 27.5 ! (8.38)   (†)
American Indian/Alaska Native 29.5   (6.53) 53.3   (6.42) 12.1 ! (4.90) 5.1 ! (2.54) 39.7   (9.13) 29.2   (8.22) 19.9 ! (6.67)   (†) 54.6   (8.07) 28.2   (6.56) 16.3 ! (5.26)   (†)
Other 41.4   (4.34) 36.2   (3.91) 18.8   (2.81) 3.5 ! (1.38) 43.4   (3.98) 39.0   (4.33) 11.3   (2.39) 6.4   (1.73) 56.0   (2.82) 27.6   (2.61) 11.3   (1.71) 5.1 ! (2.33)
                                                                         
Highest education level
     of parents
                                                                       
Less than high school 27.8   (2.17) 41.6   (2.05) 22.7   (2.27) 7.8   (1.46) 26.8   (3.18) 41.9   (4.27) 22.0   (2.55) 9.3   (2.02) 39.5   (2.25) 39.7   (2.02) 16.8   (1.73) 4.0   (0.93)
High school/GED 32.1   (1.20) 41.4   (1.23) 21.7   (1.12) 4.8   (0.57) 32.9   (1.70) 39.8   (1.64) 21.9   (2.02) 5.4   (0.82) 37.7   (1.51) 40.8   (1.62) 17.6   (1.31) 4.0   (0.71)
Vocational/technical or
       some college
39.8   (1.34) 38.3   (1.36) 17.2   (0.95) 4.7   (0.58) 40.7   (1.65) 38.6   (2.03) 16.6   (1.43) 4.0   (0.78) 43.5   (1.07) 38.1   (1.05) 15.6   (0.87) 2.8   (0.32)
Associate's degree 46.7   (2.13) 34.5   (1.94) 16.4   (1.51) 2.4   (0.57) 40.3   (2.27) 38.4   (2.00) 15.7   (1.76) 5.5 ! (2.10) 47.0   (1.82) 34.9   (1.78) 15.4   (1.29) 2.7   (0.52)
Bachelor's degree/some
       graduate school
53.0   (1.26) 34.2   (1.29) 11.1   (0.85) 1.7   (0.28) 58.9   (1.62) 32.2   (1.52) 7.3   (0.85) 1.6   (0.38) 60.1   (1.05) 31.4   (1.02) 7.5   (0.53) 1.0   (0.19)
Graduate/professional
       degree
61.9   (1.71) 30.5   (1.75) 6.7   (0.67) 0.9   (0.24) 68.2   (1.59) 24.1   (1.37) 6.6   (1.33) 1.2 ! (0.38) 68.1   (1.04) 27.3   (1.04) 4.2   (0.36) 0.5   (0.10)
                                                                         
Family income (in current dollars)                                                                        
$20,000 or less 33.1   (1.53) 38.9   (1.56) 22.0   (1.30) 6.0   (0.85) 29.0   (2.20) 39.4   (2.61) 24.7   (2.83) 6.8   (1.14) 37.2   (1.35) 40.2   (1.19) 18.3   (1.04) 4.4   (0.59)
$20,001 to $50,000 37.8   (1.20) 40.0   (1.19) 17.7   (0.85) 4.5   (0.42) 37.6   (1.47) 37.9   (1.65) 18.0   (1.39) 6.4   (0.91) 41.3   (1.22) 38.9   (1.19) 16.7   (0.90) 3.1   (0.44)
$50,001 to $75,000 48.0   (1.29) 35.0   (1.22) 14.0   (0.81) 3.0   (0.45) 53.0   (1.50) 33.8   (1.42) 11.0   (0.97) 2.2   (0.42) 49.3   (1.45) 35.8   (1.37) 12.9   (1.07) 1.9   (0.32)
$75,001 to $100,000 51.8   (1.66) 33.7   (1.45) 13.3   (1.23) 1.3   (0.32) 55.7   (1.74) 33.3   (1.84) 9.7   (1.00) 1.4   (0.33) 53.7   (1.64) 33.5   (1.42) 10.6   (1.03) 2.3   (0.50)
Over $100,000 55.8   (1.74) 33.9   (1.72) 9.1   (1.09) 1.2   (0.24) 61.6   (1.44) 30.2   (1.31) 7.0   (0.88) 1.2   (0.36) 61.8   (1.15) 30.4   (1.19) 6.6   (0.61) 1.1 ! (0.41)
                                                                         
Poverty status1                                                                        
Poor 33.1   (1.61) 39.4   (1.65) 21.9   (1.39) 5.6   (0.91) 30.4   (2.07) 39.0   (2.52) 23.3   (2.38) 7.2   (1.09) 39.1   (1.39) 38.9   (1.33) 17.8   (1.06) 4.2   (0.54)
Near-poor 34.8   (1.39) 42.0   (1.26) 18.2   (1.08) 5.0   (0.59) 38.4   (1.85) 36.5   (1.85) 18.6   (1.84) 6.5   (1.18) 40.1   (1.19) 40.3   (1.07) 17.0   (0.93) 2.7   (0.45)
Nonpoor 49.9   (0.83) 34.5   (0.76) 13.2   (0.54) 2.4   (0.23) 55.1   (0.89) 33.2   (0.91) 9.8   (0.56) 1.8   (0.21) 56.0   (0.75) 32.7   (0.75) 9.5   (0.45) 1.8   (0.25)
                                                                         
Control of school and
     enrollment level of child
                                                                       
Public school 41.8   (0.64) 37.5   (0.62) 16.8   (0.57) 3.8   (0.26) 45.5   (0.80) 35.5   (0.84) 14.9   (0.77) 4.1   (0.39) 47.9   (0.55) 36.0   (0.60) 13.5   (0.39) 2.6   (0.23)
Elementary (kindergarten
       to grade 8)
46.1   (0.80) 35.9   (0.84) 14.6   (0.74) 3.4   (0.32) 50.0   (0.99) 33.1   (1.00) 13.4   (1.12) 3.5   (0.43) 52.9   (0.69) 34.2   (0.73) 11.0   (0.49) 1.8   (0.22)
Secondary (grades 9 to 12) 34.6   (0.96) 40.2   (0.97) 20.6   (0.94) 4.6   (0.46) 38.6   (1.36) 39.1   (1.27) 17.2   (1.08) 5.2   (0.71) 37.5   (0.83) 39.7   (1.03) 18.4   (0.84) 4.4   (0.54)
Private school 57.6   (1.72) 33.0   (1.68) 8.1   (0.91) 1.3 ! (0.45) 60.6   (2.79) 30.8   (2.85) 7.8   (1.73) 0.9 ! (0.35) 63.4   (1.63) 30.8   (1.51) 5.4   (0.68) 0.4 ! (0.20)
Elementary (kindergarten
       to grade 8)
61.6   (2.39) 30.3   (2.28) 7.3   (1.03) 0.8 ! (0.28) 66.1   (3.73) 26.6   (4.05) 6.6   (1.66)   (†) 67.8   (1.95) 28.2   (1.91) 3.5   (0.61)   (†)
Secondary (grades 9 to 12) 48.8   (3.22) 38.9   (2.94) 10.0   (1.77)   (†) 51.2   (3.91) 37.8   (3.43) 9.8 ! (3.87)   (†) 52.8   (2.70) 37.2   (2.58) 9.9   (1.60)   (†)
—Not available.
†Not applicable.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
‡Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater.
1 Poor children are those whose family incomes were below the Census Bureau’s poverty threshold in the year prior to data collection; near-poor children are those whose family incomes ranged from the poverty threshold to 199 percent of the poverty threshold; and nonpoor children are those whose family incomes were at or above 200 percent of the poverty threshold. The poverty threshold is a dollar amount that varies depending on a family’s size and composition and is updated annually to account for inflation. In 2011, for example, the poverty threshold for a family of four with two children was $22,811. Survey respondents are asked to select the range within which their income falls, rather than giving the exact amount of their income; therefore, the measure of poverty status is an approximation.
NOTE: While National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES) administrations prior to 2012 were administered via telephone with an interviewer, NHES:2012 used self-administered paper-and-pencil questionnaires that were mailed to respondents. Measurable differences in estimates between 2012 and prior years could reflect actual changes in the population, or the changes could be due to the mode change from telephone to mail. Includes children enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12. Excludes children whose programs have no classes with lettered grades. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey of the National Household Education Surveys Program (PFI-NHES:2003, 2007, and 2012). (This table was prepared September 2014.)

2016 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest