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Digest of Education Statistics
2018 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 222.90. Percentage of students at or above selected National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics score levels, by age, sex, and race/ethnicity: Selected years, 1978 through 2012
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Sex, race/
ethnicity,
and year
9-year-olds 13-year-olds 17-year-olds
Level 1501 Level 2002 Level 2503 Level 2002 Level 2503 Level 3004 Level 2503 Level 3004 Level 3505
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Total                                    
1978 96.7 (0.25) 70.4 (0.92) 19.6 (0.73) 94.6 (0.46) 64.9 (1.18) 18.0 (0.73) 92.0 (0.50) 51.5 (1.14) 7.3 (0.44)
1982 97.1 (0.35) 71.4 (1.18) 18.8 (0.96) 97.7 (0.37) 71.4 (1.18) 17.4 (0.95) 93.0 (0.50) 48.5 (1.28) 5.5 (0.43)
1986 97.9 (0.29) 74.1 (1.24) 20.7 (0.88) 98.6 (0.25) 73.3 (1.59) 15.8 (1.01) 95.6 (0.48) 51.7 (1.43) 6.5 (0.52)
1990 99.1 (0.21) 81.5 (0.96) 27.7 (0.86) 98.5 (0.21) 74.7 (1.03) 17.3 (0.99) 96.0 (0.52) 56.1 (1.43) 7.2 (0.63)
1996 99.1 (0.18) 81.5 (0.76) 29.7 (1.02) 98.8 (0.20) 78.6 (0.87) 20.6 (1.24) 96.8 (0.42) 60.1 (1.72) 7.4 (0.77)
1999 98.9 (0.17) 82.5 (0.84) 30.9 (1.07) 98.7 (0.25) 78.8 (1.02) 23.2 (0.95) 96.8 (0.45) 60.7 (1.63) 8.4 (0.83)
2004 98.7 (0.19) 87.0 (0.77) 40.9 (0.89) 98.1 (0.19) 81.1 (0.98) 27.8 (1.09) 95.8 (0.40) 58.3 (1.12) 6.1 (0.47)
2008 99.0 (0.18) 89.1 (0.69) 44.5 (1.01) 98.2 (0.19) 83.4 (0.63) 30.0 (1.08) 96.0 (0.37) 59.4 (0.87) 6.2 (0.40)
2012 98.7 (0.21) 88.7 (0.69) 46.7 (1.28) 98.5 (0.21) 84.7 (0.71) 34.0 (1.38) 95.7 (0.31) 59.7 (1.22) 7.0 (0.51)
                                     
Male                                    
1978 96.2 (0.48) 68.9 (0.98) 19.2 (0.64) 93.9 (0.49) 63.9 (1.32) 18.4 (0.85) 93.0 (0.52) 55.1 (1.21) 9.5 (0.57)
1982 96.5 (0.55) 68.8 (1.29) 18.1 (1.06) 97.5 (0.55) 71.3 (1.44) 18.9 (1.18) 93.9 (0.58) 51.9 (1.51) 6.9 (0.70)
1986 98.0 (0.51) 74.0 (1.45) 20.9 (1.10) 98.5 (0.32) 73.8 (1.76) 17.6 (1.12) 96.1 (0.63) 54.6 (1.78) 8.4 (0.91)
1990 99.0 (0.26) 80.6 (1.05) 27.5 (0.96) 98.2 (0.34) 75.1 (1.75) 19.0 (1.24) 95.8 (0.77) 57.6 (1.42) 8.8 (0.76)
1996 99.1 (0.20) 82.5 (1.10) 32.7 (1.74) 98.7 (0.25) 79.8 (1.43) 23.0 (1.64) 97.0 (0.66) 62.7 (1.77) 9.5 (1.32)
1999 98.8 (0.28) 82.6 (0.92) 32.4 (1.25) 98.5 (0.27) 79.3 (1.12) 25.4 (1.19) 96.5 (0.81) 63.1 (2.12) 9.8 (1.09)
2004 98.3 (0.27) 86.1 (0.89) 40.7 (1.03) 97.7 (0.29) 80.5 (1.08) 29.9 (1.27) 95.6 (0.45) 60.8 (1.31) 7.3 (0.68)
2008 99.0 (0.27) 88.4 (0.87) 44.4 (1.18) 98.2 (0.28) 84.3 (0.75) 33.4 (1.29) 96.2 (0.47) 62.9 (0.96) 7.6 (0.61)
2012 98.6 (0.24) 88.0 (0.79) 47.0 (1.47) 98.2 (0.27) 84.7 (0.84) 35.7 (1.55) 95.5 (0.43) 61.5 (1.33) 9.0 (0.75)
                                     
Female                                    
1978 97.2 (0.27) 72.0 (1.05) 19.9 (1.00) 95.2 (0.49) 65.9 (1.17) 17.5 (0.75) 91.0 (0.57) 48.2 (1.29) 5.2 (0.66)
1982 97.6 (0.33) 74.0 (1.30) 19.6 (1.11) 98.0 (0.27) 71.4 (1.29) 15.9 (1.00) 92.1 (0.56) 45.3 (1.37) 4.1 (0.42)
1986 97.8 (0.38) 74.3 (1.32) 20.6 (1.28) 98.6 (0.31) 72.7 (1.95) 14.1 (1.31) 95.1 (0.65) 48.9 (1.73) 4.7 (0.59)
1990 99.1 (0.26) 82.3 (1.26) 27.9 (1.31) 98.9 (0.18) 74.4 (1.32) 15.7 (1.00) 96.2 (0.84) 54.7 (1.84) 5.6 (0.79)
1996 99.1 (0.36) 80.7 (0.93) 26.7 (1.07) 98.8 (0.27) 77.4 (1.09) 18.4 (1.48) 96.7 (0.57) 57.6 (2.21) 5.3 (0.80)
1999 99.0 (0.19) 82.5 (1.15) 29.4 (1.36) 99.0 (0.40) 78.4 (1.22) 21.0 (1.38) 97.2 (0.40) 58.5 (1.89) 7.1 (1.06)
2004 99.0 (0.22) 87.8 (0.96) 41.1 (1.13) 98.4 (0.25) 81.7 (1.10) 25.7 (1.24) 95.9 (0.58) 55.9 (1.18) 4.9 (0.48)
2008 99.0 (0.21) 89.9 (0.78) 44.6 (1.18) 98.2 (0.25) 82.5 (0.86) 26.7 (1.13) 95.7 (0.43) 55.8 (1.25) 4.6 (0.34)
2012 98.8 (0.29) 89.4 (0.80) 46.5 (1.34) 98.8 (0.23) 84.7 (0.91) 32.2 (1.42) 96.0 (0.37) 57.9 (1.45) 5.1 (0.60)
                                     
White                                    
1978 98.3 (0.19) 76.3 (1.00) 22.9 (0.87) 97.6 (0.27) 72.9 (0.85) 21.4 (0.73) 95.6 (0.30) 57.6 (1.14) 8.5 (0.48)
1982 98.5 (0.25) 76.8 (1.22) 21.8 (1.13) 99.1 (0.14) 78.3 (0.94) 20.5 (1.00) 96.2 (0.33) 54.7 (1.41) 6.4 (0.54)
1986 98.8 (0.24) 79.6 (1.33) 24.6 (1.03) 99.3 (0.27) 78.9 (1.69) 18.6 (1.17) 98.0 (0.36) 59.1 (1.69) 7.9 (0.68)
1990 99.6 (0.16) 86.9 (0.86) 32.7 (1.04) 99.4 (0.14) 82.0 (1.01) 21.0 (1.23) 97.6 (0.28) 63.2 (1.59) 8.3 (0.73)
1996 99.6 (0.15) 86.6 (0.80) 35.7 (1.38) 99.6 (0.16) 86.4 (1.02) 25.4 (1.50) 98.7 (0.37) 68.7 (2.18) 9.2 (1.02)
1999 99.6 (0.12) 88.6 (0.78) 37.1 (1.35) 99.4 (0.29) 86.7 (0.92) 29.0 (1.26) 98.7 (0.40) 69.9 (1.96) 10.4 (1.07)
2004 99.2 (0.18) 91.9 (0.61) 47.2 (0.97) 99.1 (0.16) 89.3 (0.82) 35.1 (1.21) 97.5 (0.28) 66.8 (1.08) 7.6 (0.63)
2008 99.6 (0.12) 94.0 (0.52) 52.9 (1.29) 98.9 (0.17) 90.4 (0.83) 39.2 (1.60) 98.2 (0.26) 70.5 (1.09) 8.1 (0.55)
2012 99.4 (0.18) 93.2 (0.58) 55.9 (1.54) 99.2 (0.15) 91.6 (0.57) 41.4 (1.65) 97.9 (0.33) 70.3 (1.56) 9.1 (0.71)
                                     
Black                                    
1978 88.4 (1.01) 42.0 (1.44) 4.1 (0.64) 79.7 (1.48) 28.7 (2.06) 2.3 (0.48) 70.7 (1.73) 16.8 (1.57) 0.5 (—)
1982 90.2 (0.97) 46.1 (2.35) 4.4 (0.81) 90.2 (1.60) 37.9 (2.51) 2.9 (0.96) 76.4 (1.47) 17.1 (1.51) 0.5 (—)
1986 93.9 (1.37) 53.4 (2.47) 5.6 (0.92) 95.4 (0.95) 49.0 (3.70) 4.0 (1.42) 85.6 (2.53) 20.8 (2.83) 0.2 (—)
1990 96.9 (0.88) 60.0 (2.76) 9.4 (1.72) 95.4 (1.10) 48.7 (3.56) 3.9 (1.61) 92.4 (2.20) 32.8 (4.49) 2.0 (1.04)
1996 97.3 (0.84) 65.3 (2.38) 10.0 (1.24) 96.2 (1.27) 53.7 (2.56) 4.8 (1.08) 90.6 (1.33) 31.2 (2.51) 0.9 (—)
1999 96.4 (0.64) 63.3 (2.11) 12.3 (1.48) 96.5 (1.06) 50.8 (4.01) 4.4 (1.37) 88.6 (1.95) 26.6 (2.70) 1.0 (—)
2004 97.1 (0.65) 74.3 (2.61) 22.0 (1.72) 95.3 (0.78) 61.5 (2.47) 9.7 (1.35) 89.1 (1.63) 29.4 (2.07) 0.4 (—)
2008 96.9 (0.86) 75.6 (2.31) 24.6 (1.67) 96.6 (0.68) 67.6 (1.69) 10.2 (1.17) 90.6 (1.42) 31.8 (1.60) 0.8 (0.23)
2012 97.5 (0.66) 77.2 (1.56) 26.3 (2.01) 96.7 (0.66) 67.3 (2.10) 14.2 (1.61) 89.8 (1.03) 33.8 (2.04) 1.1 (0.32)
                                     
Hispanic                                    
1978 93.0 (1.20) 54.2 (2.80) 9.2 (2.49) 86.4 (0.94) 36.0 (2.92) 4.0 (0.95) 78.3 (2.29) 23.4 (2.67) 1.4 (0.58)
1982 94.3 (1.19) 55.7 (2.26) 7.8 (1.74) 95.9 (0.95) 52.2 (2.48) 6.3 (0.97) 81.4 (1.86) 21.6 (2.16) 0.7 (0.36)
1986 96.4 (1.29) 57.6 (2.95) 7.3 (2.81) 96.9 (1.43) 56.0 (5.01) 5.5 (1.15) 89.3 (2.52) 26.5 (4.48) 1.1 (—)
1990 98.0 (0.76) 68.4 (3.03) 11.3 (3.49) 96.8 (1.06) 56.7 (3.32) 6.4 (1.70) 85.8 (4.18) 30.1 (3.09) 1.9 (0.78)
1996 98.1 (0.73) 67.1 (2.14) 13.8 (2.26) 96.2 (0.78) 58.3 (2.28) 6.7 (1.17) 92.2 (2.24) 40.1 (3.47) 1.8 (—)
1999 98.1 (0.71) 67.5 (2.47) 10.5 (1.63) 97.2 (0.60) 62.9 (2.50) 8.2 (1.37) 93.6 (2.21) 37.7 (4.15) 3.1 (1.12)
2004 98.0 (0.46) 80.5 (2.03) 30.2 (2.17) 96.4 (0.66) 68.5 (1.86) 13.7 (1.44) 92.3 (1.05) 38.1 (2.12) 1.9 (0.60)
2008 98.9 (0.28) 85.1 (1.25) 33.5 (1.46) 97.0 (0.44) 73.3 (1.71) 14.4 (1.09) 92.2 (1.10) 41.1 (1.69) 1.5 (0.41)
2012 98.3 (0.40) 84.7 (1.00) 34.6 (1.22) 97.3 (0.54) 76.4 (1.94) 18.5 (1.45) 92.9 (0.59) 43.3 (1.91) 2.4 (0.44)
—Not available.
1 Students scoring 150 (or higher) know some basic addition and subtraction facts.
2 Students scoring 200 (or higher) have a considerable understanding of two-digit numbers and know some basic multiplication and division facts.
3 Students scoring 250 (or higher) have an initial understanding of the four basic operations and are developing an ability to analyze simple logical relations.
4 Students scoring 300 (or higher) can perform reasoning and problem solving involving fractions, decimals, percents, elementary geometry, and simple algebra.
5 Students scoring 350 (or above) can perform reasoning and problem solving involving geometry, algebra, and beginning statistics and probability.
NOTE: The NAEP mathematics scores have been evaluated at certain performance levels, as outlined in footnotes 1 through 5. Scale ranges from 0 to 500. Includes public and private schools. For assessment years prior to 2004, accommodations were not permitted. For 2004 and later years, includes students tested with accommodations; excludes only those students with disabilities and English language learners who were unable to be tested even with accommodations (1 to 4 percent of all students, depending on age and assessment year). Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Totals include other racial/ethnic groups not shown separately.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), NAEP Trends in Academic Progress, 1996 and 1999; and 2004, 2008, and 2012 Long-Term Trend Mathematics Assessments, retrieved May 4, 2009, and July 20, 2013, from the Long-Term Trend NAEP Data Explorer (http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/naepdata/). (This table was prepared July 2013.)

2018 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest