Skip Navigation
Digest of Education Statistics
2021 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 227.50. Average National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading and mathematics scale scores of 4th-, 8th-, and 12th-graders and percentage absent from school, by selected characteristics and number of days absent in the last month: 2019
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Grade level and days absent from school in the last month All students Sex Race/ethnicity Eligibility for free or
reduced-price lunch (public school students only)
Control of school
Male Female White Black Hispanic Asian Pacific Islander American Indian/
Alaska Native
Two or more races Eligible Not eligible Unknown Public Catholic Other private
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Average mathematics scale score1
4th-graders 241 (0.2) 242 (0.3) 239 (0.2) 249 (0.3) 224 (0.4) 231 (0.3) 263 (1.0) 226 (7.9) 227 (1.2) 244 (0.6) 229 (0.2) 253 (0.3) 247 (1.2) 240 (0.2) 246 (1.3) (†)
0 days 248 (0.3) 250 (0.4) 245 (0.3) 254 (0.4) 232 (0.5) 239 (0.5) 269 (1.0) 236 (9.2) 235 (2.3) 251 (0.8) 236 (0.3) 258 (0.3) 252 (1.3) 247 (0.3) 249 (1.6) (†)
1-2 days 241 (0.3) 243 (0.5) 240 (0.4) 250 (0.4) 225 (0.5) 232 (0.6) 260 (1.6) 238 (4.2) 231 (2.2) 245 (1.3) 231 (0.4) 253 (0.5) 247 (1.5) 241 (0.3) 246 (1.9) (†)
3-4 days 234 (0.4) 234 (0.6) 233 (0.5) 243 (0.5) 221 (0.9) 226 (0.7) 253 (2.1) 232 (5.5) 226 (2.9) 235 (2.2) 225 (0.5) 246 (0.6) 241 (2.7) 233 (0.4) 242 (2.8) (†)
5 or more days 223 (0.5) 223 (0.7) 223 (0.8) 234 (0.8) 209 (0.7) 215 (0.9) 242 (3.4) 195 (22.9) 214 (2.8) 228 (2.2) 215 (0.6) 238 (0.8) 233 (5.1) 222 (0.5) 237 (3.4) (†)
5-10 days 229 (0.6) 230 (0.7) 229 (0.9) 241 (0.8) 213 (1.1) 220 (1.3) 250 (4.8) 220 (6.2) 218 (4.0) 232 (2.6) 220 (0.7) 244 (0.7) 243 (3.1) 228 (0.6) 241 (4.6) (†)
More than 10 days 213 (0.8) 212 (1.4) 214 (1.0) 221 (1.4) 205 (0.9) 208 (1.4) 234 (5.1) 180 (34.8) 208 (4.1) 219 (3.2) 207 (0.8) 226 (1.6) 219 (10.8) 212 (0.7) (†) (†)

8th-graders
282 (0.3) 282 (0.3) 282 (0.3) 292 (0.3) 260 (0.4) 268 (0.4) 313 (1.0) 266 (2.3) 262 (1.3) 286 (1.0) 266 (0.3) 296 (0.3) 294 (1.6) 281 (0.3) 293 (1.6) (†)
0 days 290 (0.4) 290 (0.5) 290 (0.5) 298 (0.4) 267 (0.6) 275 (0.7) 318 (1.2) 274 (5.6) 266 (2.7) 294 (1.4) 274 (0.5) 302 (0.4) 299 (1.8) 289 (0.4) 297 (1.9) (†)
1-2 days 283 (0.3) 282 (0.4) 283 (0.5) 293 (0.5) 261 (0.8) 269 (0.5) 311 (2.1) 268 (5.6) 267 (2.2) 288 (1.6) 267 (0.4) 296 (0.5) 296 (1.9) 281 (0.3) 293 (1.9) (†)
3-4 days 271 (0.5) 271 (0.7) 270 (0.7) 283 (0.6) 252 (0.9) 259 (1.0) 298 (3.3) 254 (6.9) 260 (3.0) 275 (2.0) 259 (0.5) 285 (0.8) 281 (3.0) 270 (0.5) 288 (4.3) (†)
5 or more days 260 (0.8) 259 (1.2) 262 (1.0) 273 (1.1) 243 (1.3) 251 (1.3) 282 (5.7) 247 (7.6) 253 (6.6) 265 (3.1) 250 (0.8) 277 (1.2) 274 (6.2) 260 (0.7) 276 (4.7) (†)
5-10 days 265 (0.8) 265 (1.1) 266 (1.2) 277 (1.2) 247 (1.4) 257 (1.6) 290 (6.4) 259 (8.7) 262 (8.7) 270 (3.8) 255 (1.0) 282 (1.1) 282 (5.6) 265 (0.8) (†) (†)
More than 10 days 246 (1.4) 244 (2.1) 248 (1.6) 259 (2.3) 233 (2.7) 238 (2.0) 264 (7.3) (†) 232 (4.4) 252 (6.4) 239 (1.2) 262 (2.5) 251 (16.3) 245 (1.1) (†) (†)

12th-graders
150 (0.4) 152 (0.6) 149 (0.4) 159 (0.5) 128 (0.7) 138 (0.5) 175 (1.5) 135 (5.9) 136 (1.9) 157 (1.9) 136 (0.4) 160 (0.5) 161 (1.9) 149 (0.4) (†) (†)
0 days 155 (0.5) 156 (0.7) 153 (0.7) 163 (0.8) 133 (1.1) 143 (0.7) 177 (1.9) (†) 138 (3.6) 161 (3.5) 140 (0.6) 163 (0.7) 164 (2.5) 154 (0.5) (†) (†)
1-2 days 153 (0.5) 154 (0.8) 151 (0.6) 162 (0.7) 130 (1.0) 138 (0.9) 178 (2.5) (†) 140 (3.4) 161 (2.4) 137 (0.6) 162 (0.7) 163 (2.3) 152 (0.5) (†) (†)
3-4 days 144 (0.8) 146 (1.2) 143 (1.1) 154 (1.1) 122 (1.7) 133 (1.1) 166 (3.7) (†) 130 (4.3) 151 (4.8) 132 (1.0) 155 (1.1) 153 (4.4) 143 (0.8) (†) (†)
5 or more days 137 (1.0) 137 (1.4) 137 (1.2) 146 (1.6) 120 (1.6) 126 (1.3) 169 (5.9) (†) (†) 137 (5.3) 126 (1.2) 148 (1.5) 150 (4.6) 136 (1.1) (†) (†)
5-10 days 141 (1.2) 141 (1.8) 141 (1.4) 150 (1.6) 123 (2.0) 130 (1.5) 178 (6.7) (†) (†) (†) 129 (1.3) 152 (1.5) 151 (5.2) 140 (1.2) (†) (†)
More than 10 days 127 (1.9) 128 (2.8) 126 (2.6) 134 (3.3) 114 (3.3) 118 (2.3) (†) (†) (†) (†) 117 (2.4) 137 (2.9) (†) 126 (2.0) (†) (†)
Average reading scale score2
4th-graders 220 (0.2) 217 (0.3) 224 (0.2) 230 (0.2) 204 (0.5) 209 (0.5) 239 (1.0) 212 (2.0) 204 (1.7) 226 (0.8) 207 (0.3) 235 (0.3) 232 (1.1) 219 (0.2) 235 (1.6) (†)
0 days 228 (0.3) 225 (0.4) 231 (0.4) 235 (0.3) 212 (0.7) 217 (0.7) 246 (1.1) 225 (3.4) 214 (2.1) 232 (1.2) 214 (0.4) 240 (0.3) 238 (1.4) 227 (0.3) 239 (1.6) (†)
1-2 days 222 (0.4) 219 (0.5) 226 (0.4) 232 (0.4) 205 (0.8) 211 (0.8) 239 (1.7) 218 (4.5) 210 (2.5) 227 (1.4) 210 (0.6) 236 (0.5) 232 (1.7) 221 (0.4) 236 (2.5) (†)
3-4 days 215 (0.5) 212 (0.7) 219 (0.6) 226 (0.7) 200 (1.2) 206 (1.1) 229 (3.2) 200 (6.4) 205 (3.0) 222 (2.1) 205 (0.7) 229 (0.8) 230 (3.0) 214 (0.5) 231 (5.3) (†)
5 or more days 199 (0.7) 194 (0.9) 204 (0.8) 212 (0.9) 185 (0.9) 188 (1.3) 216 (3.9) 196 (6.0) 192 (3.8) 207 (2.6) 189 (0.8) 217 (1.1) 214 (3.2) 197 (0.7) 225 (3.8) (†)
5-10 days 208 (0.9) 203 (1.2) 213 (1.0) 220 (1.2) 193 (1.3) 197 (1.9) 223 (4.8) 203 (6.3) 201 (5.2) 213 (3.1) 197 (1.0) 224 (1.3) 219 (3.9) 207 (0.9) 232 (4.4) (†)
More than 10 days 185 (1.1) 181 (1.4) 191 (1.3) 196 (1.5) 176 (1.5) 177 (1.9) 207 (6.5) 183 (7.2) 176 (4.4) 198 (3.8) 178 (1.1) 202 (1.9) 204 (6.7) 184 (1.1) (†) (†)

8th-graders
263 (0.3) 258 (0.3) 269 (0.3) 272 (0.3) 244 (0.5) 252 (0.6) 284 (0.9) 252 (2.3) 248 (1.6) 267 (0.9) 250 (0.4) 275 (0.3) 276 (1.0) 262 (0.3) 278 (1.3) (†)
0 days 268 (0.4) 263 (0.5) 274 (0.5) 276 (0.3) 250 (0.7) 256 (0.9) 288 (1.1) 262 (3.8) 257 (2.3) 271 (1.7) 254 (0.5) 279 (0.4) 279 (1.5) 267 (0.4) 281 (1.9) (†)
1-2 days 264 (0.4) 259 (0.5) 270 (0.5) 273 (0.4) 245 (0.7) 254 (0.6) 281 (1.7) 253 (5.3) 251 (2.7) 271 (1.4) 251 (0.5) 276 (0.5) 276 (1.3) 263 (0.4) 278 (1.6) (†)
3-4 days 256 (0.6) 250 (0.9) 262 (0.7) 267 (0.6) 239 (1.2) 246 (1.2) 277 (3.8) 244 (6.2) 242 (3.5) 260 (2.7) 245 (0.9) 268 (0.8) 272 (3.0) 255 (0.7) 277 (2.6) (†)
5 or more days 243 (0.8) 236 (1.2) 251 (1.0) 255 (0.9) 230 (1.1) 235 (1.9) 256 (4.1) 233 (5.0) 234 (3.7) 243 (5.1) 234 (1.0) 257 (1.1) 265 (4.7) 242 (0.8) 267 (5.3) (†)
5-10 days 249 (0.8) 242 (1.3) 256 (1.2) 260 (1.1) 235 (1.2) 241 (1.9) 265 (4.4) 237 (5.7) 240 (3.9) 250 (5.1) 240 (1.0) 261 (1.2) 272 (4.8) 248 (0.8) (†) (†)
More than 10 days 226 (1.6) 221 (2.5) 234 (2.4) 238 (2.1) 217 (2.4) 219 (3.3) 237 (8.5) (†) 214 (7.6) 225 (10.2) 220 (1.9) 241 (2.6) 242 (12.5) 225 (1.6) (†) (†)

12th-graders
285 (0.5) 279 (0.7) 292 (0.6) 295 (0.6) 263 (1.0) 274 (0.7) 299 (1.7) 278 (5.2) 272 (2.4) 295 (2.1) 271 (0.6) 294 (0.7) 299 (1.9) 284 (0.6) (†) (†)
0 days 290 (0.7) 284 (0.8) 296 (0.9) 298 (0.8) 267 (1.8) 278 (1.0) 302 (2.3) (†) 273 (5.1) 303 (3.8) 276 (1.0) 297 (0.9) 300 (2.4) 288 (0.7) (†) (†)
1-2 days 288 (0.7) 281 (0.9) 294 (0.8) 297 (0.9) 266 (1.4) 276 (0.9) 302 (2.3) (†) 281 (4.3) 293 (2.9) 274 (0.8) 296 (0.9) 303 (2.3) 286 (0.7) (†) (†)
3-4 days 280 (0.9) 274 (1.3) 286 (1.0) 292 (1.2) 260 (1.8) 268 (1.2) 297 (4.0) (†) 270 (5.3) 295 (5.2) 266 (1.0) 291 (1.3) 297 (3.4) 279 (0.9) (†) (†)
5 or more days 272 (1.2) 263 (1.8) 279 (1.4) 280 (1.7) 256 (2.6) 265 (1.6) 283 (5.0) (†) (†) 283 (7.3) 262 (1.4) 281 (1.9) 287 (5.9) 270 (1.3) (†) (†)
5-10 days 276 (1.3) 269 (2.0) 283 (1.5) 285 (1.8) 259 (2.9) 269 (1.9) 288 (5.6) (†) (†) (†) 266 (1.6) 285 (2.1) 291 (6.5) 275 (1.3) (†) (†)
More than 10 days 256 (2.7) 245 (3.5) 266 (3.4) 261 (3.9) 242 (5.8) 254 (3.0) (†) (†) (†) (†) 248 (2.9) 265 (3.9) (†) 255 (2.7) (†) (†)
Percent of students absent3
4th-graders 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†)
0 days 44 (0.2) 44 (0.3) 43 (0.3) 45 (0.3) 40 (0.4) 41 (0.6) 59 (0.9) 35 (3.2) 38 (2.0) 44 (1.1) 39 (0.3) 49 (0.4) 49 (1.3) 43 (0.2) 48 (1.6) (†)
1-2 days 32 (0.2) 30 (0.3) 33 (0.3) 33 (0.3) 31 (0.4) 32 (0.6) 24 (0.7) 26 (3.4) 28 (2.2) 32 (1.0) 32 (0.3) 32 (0.3) 29 (1.0) 32 (0.2) 31 (1.4) (†)
3-4 days 13 (0.2) 13 (0.3) 14 (0.2) 13 (0.2) 15 (0.4) 14 (0.4) 8 (0.7) 18 (3.2) 18 (1.8) 14 (0.9) 15 (0.3) 12 (0.2) 13 (0.9) 14 (0.2) 13 (1.1) (†)
5 or more days 11 (0.2) 12 (0.2) 10 (0.2) 9 (0.2) 14 (0.3) 13 (0.3) 9 (0.6) 21 (3.8) 17 (1.6) 10 (0.7) 14 (0.2) 8 (0.2) 9 (1.0) 11 (0.2) 8 (0.8) (†)
5-10 days 7 (0.1) 7 (0.2) 6 (0.1) 6 (0.1) 8 (0.2) 7 (0.2) 5 (0.5) 14 (3.6) 11 (1.1) 6 (0.5) 8 (0.1) 5 (0.2) 6 (0.7) 7 (0.1) 6 (0.7) (†)
More than 10 days 4 (0.1) 5 (0.1) 4 (0.1) 3 (0.1) 7 (0.2) 6 (0.2) 4 (0.3) 7 (1.3) 6 (0.9) 4 (0.4) 6 (0.2) 3 (0.1) 3 (0.6) 5 (0.1) 2 (0.4) (†)

8th-graders
100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†)
0 days 41 (0.3) 43 (0.4) 40 (0.3) 41 (0.3) 39 (0.6) 40 (0.6) 59 (1.5) 40 (3.8) 32 (1.7) 41 (1.3) 37 (0.4) 45 (0.4) 47 (1.4) 41 (0.3) 43 (1.3) (†)
1-2 days 38 (0.2) 37 (0.3) 39 (0.3) 40 (0.3) 35 (0.6) 38 (0.5) 29 (1.2) 34 (3.7) 40 (1.5) 36 (1.1) 37 (0.3) 39 (0.3) 37 (1.3) 38 (0.2) 40 (1.3) (†)
3-4 days 14 (0.2) 13 (0.2) 14 (0.2) 13 (0.2) 17 (0.5) 15 (0.4) 8 (0.7) 16 (2.6) 18 (1.2) 15 (1.0) 16 (0.2) 12 (0.2) 12 (0.8) 14 (0.2) 12 (0.8) (†)
5 or more days 7 (0.1) 7 (0.2) 7 (0.2) 6 (0.1) 9 (0.3) 8 (0.3) 4 (0.5) 10 (1.4) 10 (1.0) 8 (0.7) 9 (0.2) 5 (0.1) 4 (0.5) 7 (0.1) 5 (0.7) (†)
5-10 days 5 (0.1) 5 (0.1) 5 (0.2) 5 (0.1) 6 (0.3) 6 (0.3) 3 (0.4) 7 (1.3) 8 (0.8) 6 (0.5) 7 (0.2) 4 (0.1) 3 (0.4) 5 (0.1) 4 (0.6) (†)
More than 10 days 2 (0.1) 2 (0.1) 2 (0.1) 1 (0.1) 3 (0.2) 2 (0.1) 1 (0.2) 3 (0.5) 2 (0.4) 2 (0.4) 3 (0.1) 1 (0.1) 1 (0.3) 2 (0.1) 1 (0.2) (†)

12th-graders
100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†) 100 (†)
0 days 34 (0.4) 37 (0.5) 31 (0.5) 34 (0.5) 33 (0.7) 33 (0.8) 47 (1.5) (†) 28 (3.0) 31 (1.7) 31 (0.5) 36 (0.5) 39 (2.8) 34 (0.3) (†) (†)
1-2 days 41 (0.4) 39 (0.5) 42 (0.5) 43 (0.5) 37 (0.7) 39 (0.7) 35 (1.2) (†) 35 (2.9) 42 (2.2) 39 (0.5) 42 (0.5) 39 (2.2) 41 (0.3) (†) (†)
3-4 days 17 (0.3) 16 (0.4) 18 (0.4) 16 (0.4) 19 (0.7) 18 (0.5) 12 (1.0) (†) 22 (2.7) 17 (1.7) 19 (0.4) 15 (0.4) 17 (1.6) 17 (0.3) (†) (†)
5 or more days 9 (0.2) 8 (0.3) 9 (0.3) 8 (0.3) 10 (0.5) 10 (0.4) 6 (0.7) (†) 15 (2.1) 10 (1.2) 11 (0.4) 7 (0.2) 5 (0.6) 9 (0.2) (†) (†)
5-10 days 7 (0.2) 6 (0.2) 7 (0.3) 6 (0.2) 8 (0.4) 7 (0.4) 5 (0.6) (†) 12 (1.9) 8 (1.1) 8 (0.3) 6 (0.2) 4 (0.5) 7 (0.2) (†) (†)
More than 10 days 2 (0.1) 2 (0.1) 2 (0.1) 2 (0.1) 2 (0.3) 3 (0.2) 2 (0.3) (†) 3 (0.9) 2 (0.7) 3 (0.2) 2 (0.1) 1 (0.3) 2 (0.1) (†) (†)
†Not applicable.
‡Reporting standards not met (too few cases for a reliable estimate).
1 For grades 4 and 8, the mathematics scale ranges from 0 to 500. For grade 12, the mathematics scale ranges from 0 to 300.
2 Reading scale ranges from 0 to 500.
3 Data on percent of students absent are based on the Reading Assessment.
NOTE: Includes public, private, Bureau of Indian Education, and Department of Defense Education Activity schools. Includes students tested with accommodations (9 to 14 percent of all students, depending on assessment and grade level); excludes only those students with disabilities and English language learners who were unable to be tested even with accommodations (1 or 2 percent of all 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 and Reading Assessments, retrieved November 4, 2020, from the Main NAEP Data Explorer (https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/ndecore/xplore/NDE). (This table was prepared November 2020.)

2021 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest