Digest of Education Statistics
2019 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 222.30. Average National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics scale score and percentage distribution of 8th-graders, by selected attitudes toward mathematics, level of interest in/enjoyment of mathematics, and selected student characteristics: 2019
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Student characteristic Selected attitudes toward mathematics1 Level of interest in/enjoyment
of mathematics2
I want to become better in math this year I want to understand as much as I can in math class
Not at
all like
me
A little
bit like
me
Somewhat
like me
Quite a
bit like
me
Exactly
like me
Not at
all like
me
A little
bit like
me
Somewhat
like me
Quite a
bit like
me
Exactly
like me
Low Moderate High
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
  Average mathematics scale score3
All students 260 (1.2) 267 (0.9) 272 (0.6) 288 (0.4) 286 (0.3) 257 (1.0) 266 (1.0) 272 (0.6) 287 (0.4) 287 (0.3) 272 (0.4) 284 (0.4) 292 (0.4)
Sex                                                    
Male 259 (1.4) 266 (1.1) 272 (0.7) 289 (0.6) 288 (0.5) 258 (1.3) 267 (1.2) 271 (0.7) 288 (0.5) 288 (0.5) 272 (0.5) 283 (0.5) 293 (0.5)
Female 260 (1.9) 268 (1.5) 273 (0.9) 287 (0.5) 285 (0.4) 256 (1.7) 264 (1.4) 272 (1.0) 285 (0.6) 286 (0.4) 273 (0.5) 285 (0.5) 290 (0.5)

Race/ethnicity
                                                   
White 267 (1.3) 276 (1.1) 283 (0.6) 295 (0.5) 298 (0.4) 264 (1.2) 275 (1.0) 281 (0.6) 294 (0.5) 298 (0.4) 280 (0.4) 294 (0.4) 304 (0.4)
Black 244 (2.8) 244 (2.0) 251 (1.4) 267 (1.1) 263 (0.6) 242 (2.5) 244 (1.7) 253 (1.2) 265 (1.1) 263 (0.6) 255 (0.8) 261 (0.8) 265 (0.7)
Hispanic 251 (2.3) 257 (1.6) 259 (1.0) 274 (0.8) 272 (0.6) 250 (2.1) 255 (2.0) 259 (1.0) 274 (0.7) 272 (0.6) 261 (0.7) 270 (0.6) 277 (0.8)
Asian 291 (8.7) 287 (6.0) 303 (2.7) 316 (1.7) 318 (1.3) 294 (8.0) 297 (6.8) 299 (3.0) 317 (1.9) 317 (1.2) 298 (2.3) 314 (1.8) 323 (1.2)
Pacific Islander (†) (†) 254 (8.4) 269 (7.4) 273 (3.0) (†) (†) 264 (9.2) 265 (7.8) 274 (3.1) 249 (6.7) 273 (4.6) 274 (3.3)
American Indian/Alaska Native 252 (4.3) 247 (7.1) 258 (2.8) 267 (2.1) 268 (2.8) 244 (8.9) 249 (5.0) 257 (2.9) 267 (2.2) 268 (2.5) 258 (2.5) 263 (1.6) 275 (3.0)
Two or more races 261 (5.0) 279 (4.0) 274 (2.1) 291 (1.8) 292 (1.6) 258 (5.1) 276 (4.0) 275 (2.5) 290 (2.0) 293 (1.6) 276 (1.8) 288 (1.3) 300 (1.9)

Eligibility for free or reduced-price
     lunch
                                                   
Eligible 249 (1.4) 255 (1.2) 259 (0.8) 273 (0.6) 270 (0.4) 248 (1.4) 254 (1.3) 259 (0.7) 272 (0.5) 270 (0.4) 260 (0.4) 268 (0.4) 274 (0.5)
Not eligible 271 (1.7) 279 (1.2) 286 (0.8) 299 (0.5) 301 (0.4) 269 (1.6) 278 (1.1) 285 (0.8) 298 (0.5) 301 (0.4) 284 (0.5) 297 (0.5) 307 (0.5)
Unknown 273 (6.2) 282 (4.3) 286 (2.3) 300 (2.5) 297 (1.9) 269 (6.2) 279 (4.0) 287 (2.5) 298 (2.6) 299 (1.6) 281 (1.7) 293 (1.9) 309 (1.9)

Highest education level of either
     parent4
                                                   
Did not finish high school 249 (3.0) 256 (2.6) 257 (2.5) 270 (1.2) 267 (1.1) 246 (3.4) 255 (2.8) 258 (2.3) 270 (1.1) 267 (1.1) 259 (1.1) 264 (1.4) 272 (1.1)
Graduated high school 248 (2.4) 257 (2.5) 260 (1.3) 272 (1.1) 268 (0.7) 249 (2.4) 254 (2.4) 260 (1.2) 271 (1.0) 269 (0.7) 260 (0.8) 268 (0.9) 272 (0.8)
Some education after high school 265 (2.6) 265 (2.0) 273 (1.6) 284 (0.9) 283 (0.6) 260 (3.0) 267 (1.7) 272 (1.4) 283 (1.1) 283 (0.7) 273 (0.9) 281 (0.8) 288 (1.0)
Graduated college 270 (1.9) 278 (1.3) 283 (0.8) 298 (0.5) 297 (0.4) 267 (1.8) 276 (1.2) 282 (0.8) 297 (0.6) 298 (0.4) 282 (0.5) 294 (0.5) 302 (0.5)
  Percentage distribution of students
All students 3 (0.1) 5 (0.1) 14 (0.2) 26 (0.2) 52 (0.2) 3 (0.1) 5 (0.1) 13 (0.2) 24 (0.2) 54 (0.3) 28 (0.2) 37 (0.2) 35 (0.2)
Sex                                                    
Male 4 (0.1) 7 (0.2) 16 (0.3) 28 (0.3) 46 (0.4) 4 (0.1) 6 (0.2) 16 (0.2) 26 (0.3) 48 (0.4) 27 (0.3) 38 (0.3) 35 (0.3)
Female 2 (0.1) 4 (0.1) 11 (0.2) 25 (0.3) 58 (0.4) 2 (0.1) 4 (0.1) 11 (0.2) 22 (0.2) 61 (0.3) 28 (0.3) 37 (0.3) 34 (0.4)

Race/ethnicity
                                                   
White 3 (0.1) 6 (0.1) 13 (0.2) 29 (0.3) 49 (0.4) 3 (0.1) 5 (0.2) 13 (0.2) 26 (0.3) 53 (0.4) 29 (0.3) 38 (0.3) 32 (0.3)
Black 3 (0.2) 5 (0.3) 13 (0.4) 20 (0.4) 60 (0.5) 3 (0.3) 4 (0.2) 13 (0.4) 19 (0.5) 61 (0.6) 24 (0.5) 36 (0.6) 40 (0.6)
Hispanic 3 (0.2) 6 (0.2) 15 (0.4) 25 (0.5) 52 (0.5) 3 (0.2) 6 (0.3) 15 (0.3) 24 (0.4) 53 (0.5) 28 (0.5) 37 (0.5) 35 (0.7)
Asian 1 (0.3) 3 (0.4) 11 (0.8) 27 (1.2) 58 (1.3) 2 (0.3) 3 (0.3) 11 (0.8) 26 (1.0) 59 (1.0) 19 (1.0) 38 (1.2) 44 (1.4)
Pacific Islander 1 (0.4) 5 (1.6) 13 (1.7) 33 (4.2) 48 (3.4) 2 (0.7) 5 (1.6) 16 (2.4) 28 (3.9) 48 (4.1) 27 (2.6) 32 (2.9) 41 (3.3)
American Indian/Alaska Native 4 (0.6) 7 (1.0) 20 (1.5) 25 (1.6) 43 (2.3) 5 (0.8) 8 (0.8) 17 (1.4) 23 (1.5) 48 (2.3) 36 (2.3) 35 (1.8) 29 (1.6)
Two or more races 3 (0.4) 6 (0.5) 14 (0.8) 29 (1.1) 48 (1.2) 3 (0.5) 6 (0.6) 14 (0.8) 27 (1.0) 50 (1.2) 31 (1.2) 37 (1.3) 32 (1.0)

Eligibility for free or reduced-price
     lunch
                                                   
Eligible 3 (0.1) 6 (0.2) 15 (0.3) 25 (0.3) 51 (0.4) 3 (0.1) 6 (0.2) 15 (0.3) 23 (0.3) 53 (0.4) 29 (0.3) 36 (0.3) 35 (0.4)
Not eligible 2 (0.1) 5 (0.1) 12 (0.2) 28 (0.3) 52 (0.3) 3 (0.1) 5 (0.1) 12 (0.2) 26 (0.3) 55 (0.3) 27 (0.3) 38 (0.3) 34 (0.3)
Unknown 3 (0.5) 5 (0.7) 11 (0.8) 27 (0.9) 55 (1.5) 2 (0.4) 5 (0.6) 11 (0.8) 24 (0.9) 58 (1.4) 27 (1.3) 39 (1.4) 34 (1.6)

Highest education level of either
     parent4
                                                   
Did not finish high school 4 (0.4) 7 (0.6) 16 (0.9) 25 (0.8) 49 (1.0) 4 (0.4) 6 (0.5) 15 (0.7) 24 (0.8) 50 (0.9) 32 (0.9) 35 (0.8) 33 (0.9)
Graduated high school 3 (0.2) 7 (0.3) 16 (0.4) 25 (0.6) 49 (0.6) 4 (0.2) 6 (0.3) 15 (0.4) 23 (0.5) 51 (0.7) 31 (0.5) 36 (0.6) 32 (0.6)
Some education after high school 3 (0.2) 6 (0.3) 13 (0.4) 27 (0.6) 51 (0.7) 3 (0.2) 5 (0.3) 13 (0.4) 25 (0.5) 54 (0.6) 31 (0.7) 38 (0.6) 31 (0.7)
Graduated college 2 (0.1) 4 (0.1) 12 (0.2) 27 (0.3) 55 (0.3) 2 (0.1) 4 (0.1) 11 (0.2) 25 (0.2) 57 (0.3) 25 (0.3) 38 (0.3) 37 (0.3)
†Not applicable.
‡Reporting standards not met (too few cases for a reliable estimate).
1 Students were asked, "How much does each of the following statements describe a person like you?"
2 Students were assigned a level on the "students' interest/enjoyment in mathematics index" based on their responses to six items about their enjoyment of math, interest in math, and opinions on the importance of math.
3 Scale ranges from 0 to 500.
4 Based on student reports. The category of students whose parents have an unknown level of education is not shown, although data for these students is included in table totals.
NOTE: Includes public, private, Bureau of Indian Education, and Department of Defense Education Activity schools. Includes students tested with accommodations (13 percent of all 8th-grade students); excludes only those students with disabilities and English language learners who were unable to be tested even with accommodations (1 percent of all 8th-grade students). Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2019 Mathematics Assessment, retrieved November 10, 2019, from the Main NAEP Data Explorer (https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/naepdata/). (This table was prepared November 2019.)

2019 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest