Percentage of public and private high school graduates who completed selected science courses in high school, by selected student and school characteristics: Selected years, 1990 through 2019

(85KB)

Table 225.45.

[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Year and student or school characteristic	Science courses completed
Year and student or school characteristic	Integrated/ unified/ survey science¹		Earth/ environmental science²			Biology		Chemistry		Physics			Biology and chemistry³		Biology, chemistry, and physics⁴
1	2		3			4		5		6			7		8
1990
Total	56.0	(2.63)	30.7		(2.46)	93.4	(0.87)	51.4	(1.21)	22.9		(0.94)	50.4	(1.21)	20.3		(0.78)
Sex
Male	57.8	(2.64)	31.8		(2.44)	92.1	(0.99)	50.2	(1.41)	26.8		(1.07)	48.9	(1.41)	23.3		(0.90)
Female	54.5	(2.72)	29.7		(2.52)	94.5	(0.82)	52.5	(1.25)	19.2		(0.96)	51.6	(1.26)	17.4		(0.83)
Race/ethnicity⁵
White	52.7	(3.04)	33.1		(2.94)	93.2	(1.02)	53.6	(1.34)	24.3		(1.05)	52.5	(1.36)	21.9		(0.92)
Black	71.0	(3.74)	24.5		(2.61)	93.9	(1.54)	42.8	(2.01)	15.9		(1.90)	42.4	(1.99)	13.7		(1.31)
Hispanic	71.0	(3.61)	19.2		(3.41)	94.5	(1.13)	41.8	(3.13)	13.7		(1.36)	40.7	(3.09)	11.4		(1.35)
Asian/Pacific Islander	51.9	(5.98)	18.8		(1.83)	92.2	(3.60)	67.1	(4.44)	40.8		(3.72)	64.5	(4.17)	36.3		(2.89)
Asian	---	(†)	---		(†)	---	(†)	---	(†)	---		(†)	---	(†)	---		(†)
Pacific Islander	---	(†)	---		(†)	---	(†)	---	(†)	---		(†)	---	(†)	---		(†)
American Indian/Alaska Native	55.3	(9.63)	39.2	!	(12.53)	95.2	(2.51)	37.1	(7.05)	19.0	!	(6.05)	35.6	(6.96)	13.1	!	(5.31)
Two or more races	66.1	(7.17)	30.4		(8.96)	94.7	(5.37)	41.3	(5.72)	25.5		(5.57)	41.3	(5.72)	21.8	!	(7.17)
Student with disabilities (SD) status⁶
Identified as SD⁷	76.5	(3.45)	21.0		(3.46)	66.6	(4.57)	5.7	(1.38)	1.9	!	(0.62)	5.7	(1.38)	1.5	!	(0.55)
Not identified as SD	55.5	(2.66)	30.9		(2.48)	94.0	(0.79)	52.5	(1.20)	23.4		(0.94)	51.4	(1.20)	20.7		(0.78)
English learner (EL) status⁶
EL	78.0	(5.43)	21.3		(5.23)	83.1	(3.82)	37.9	(5.09)	18.8		(4.03)	29.4	(5.22)	14.6		(3.98)
Non-EL	55.9	(2.64)	30.7		(2.46)	93.4	(0.87)	51.5	(1.22)	22.9		(0.94)	50.4	(1.22)	20.3		(0.79)
School type
Traditional public	56.8	(2.87)	31.2		(2.65)	92.9	(0.96)	49.7	(1.32)	21.9		(0.97)	48.7	(1.32)	19.3		(0.79)
Public charter⁸	†	(†)	†		(†)	†	(†)	†	(†)	†		(†)	†	(†)	†		(†)
Private	48.1	(3.39)	25.8		(3.96)	98.2	(0.61)	68.2	(2.58)	32.7		(2.35)	67.2	(2.61)	29.9		(2.13)
Percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch⁹
0–25 percent	48.2	(3.18)	37.2		(3.20)	93.7	(1.05)	56.1	(1.54)	24.3		(1.43)	55.1	(1.54)	22.3		(1.24)
26–50 percent	75.2	(5.24)	18.8		(4.89)	93.9	(2.27)	38.3	(2.59)	16.7		(2.01)	38.0	(2.61)	14.3		(1.73)
51–75 percent	75.3	(6.61)	18.2	!	(8.07)	93.2	(3.69)	34.2	(4.58)	13.0		(3.29)	34.0	(4.57)	12.0		(2.96)
76–100 percent	‡	(†)	#		(†)	99.0	(0.99)	‡	(†)	‡		(†)	‡	(†)	‡		(†)
2000
Total	59.9	(2.60)	30.6		(2.00)	93.1	(0.93)	64.8	(1.41)	31.0		(1.14)	62.8	(1.42)	25.7		(1.12)
Sex
Male	60.9	(2.73)	32.2		(2.10)	91.3	(1.25)	60.7	(1.37)	33.2		(1.23)	58.0	(1.45)	26.6		(1.20)
Female	58.9	(2.68)	29.2		(2.00)	94.8	(0.72)	68.6	(1.64)	29.1		(1.27)	67.1	(1.64)	24.9		(1.24)
Race/ethnicity⁵
White	60.3	(3.01)	31.4		(2.36)	93.4	(1.04)	65.4	(1.60)	32.1		(1.37)	63.3	(1.62)	26.3		(1.28)
Black	64.1	(3.91)	32.1		(3.17)	94.4	(1.00)	62.9	(2.34)	23.8		(1.83)	61.6	(2.32)	20.1		(1.76)
Hispanic	59.1	(3.35)	26.9		(2.31)	90.8	(2.56)	56.4	(4.43)	22.6		(1.97)	55.0	(4.69)	18.4		(1.70)
Asian/Pacific Islander	48.5	(6.46)	18.8		(2.54)	89.4	(3.47)	78.5	(2.77)	53.2		(2.86)	74.3	(3.24)	46.9		(2.75)
Asian	---	(†)	---		(†)	---	(†)	---	(†)	---		(†)	---	(†)	---		(†)
Pacific Islander	---	(†)	---		(†)	---	(†)	---	(†)	---		(†)	---	(†)	---		(†)
American Indian/Alaska Native	77.8	(5.92)	20.8		(6.00)	93.3	(2.32)	45.4	(5.26)	17.0	!	(5.83)	42.1	(5.27)	11.7	!	(4.68)
Two or more races	30.7	(5.58)	61.5	!	(21.27)	93.0	(1.56)	84.8	(3.34)	37.9		(9.19)	81.6	(3.18)	35.0		(9.38)
Student with disabilities (SD) status
Identified as SD⁷	70.8	(3.15)	36.9		(2.69)	74.9	(2.38)	23.6	(2.57)	11.9		(2.20)	22.4	(2.58)	7.7		(2.23)
Not identified as SD	60.7	(2.71)	29.7		(2.18)	95.4	(0.80)	69.2	(1.59)	32.3		(1.46)	67.7	(1.61)	27.8		(1.36)
English learner (EL) status
EL	66.9	(5.62)	20.6		(2.95)	79.8	(6.01)	44.4	(6.00)	27.9		(6.40)	40.8	(6.49)	20.5	!	(6.44)
Non-EL¹⁰	61.2	(2.68)	30.3		(2.18)	94.4	(0.79)	66.8	(1.60)	31.1		(1.42)	65.4	(1.61)	26.6		(1.34)
School type
Traditional public	60.0	(2.91)	31.5		(2.07)	92.6	(1.01)	62.5	(1.37)	29.5		(1.21)	60.3	(1.37)	23.8		(1.13)
Public charter¹¹	---	(†)	---		(†)	---	(†)	---	(†)	---		(†)	---	(†)	---		(†)
Private	58.7	(11.03)	21.2		(4.25)	99.2	(0.32)	89.4	(3.44)	47.7		(8.34)	88.9	(3.46)	45.1		(8.52)
Percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch
0–25 percent	56.9	(3.83)	32.8		(3.61)	92.9	(1.50)	67.6	(2.29)	34.6		(2.09)	64.7	(2.43)	29.2		(1.84)
26–50 percent	67.3	(4.48)	31.6		(3.53)	94.7	(1.41)	58.4	(2.09)	24.5		(2.47)	57.6	(2.14)	18.8		(1.21)
51–75 percent	63.1	(7.01)	23.3		(3.68)	92.9	(2.70)	63.0	(3.14)	21.2		(2.21)	61.6	(3.46)	17.5		(2.03)
76–100 percent	55.8	(8.98)	19.6	!	(7.30)	92.5	(4.73)	64.7	(9.05)	31.2		(5.55)	63.6	(9.00)	23.7		(4.43)
2009
Total	54.8	(1.65)	39.9		(1.44)	96.7	(0.37)	73.1	(0.78)	34.1		(1.03)	72.1	(0.78)	29.7		(0.96)
Sex
Male	55.9	(1.67)	41.8		(1.62)	96.0	(0.39)	70.0	(0.94)	36.5		(1.23)	68.8	(0.93)	31.0		(1.14)
Female	53.7	(1.73)	38.1		(1.42)	97.3	(0.42)	76.2	(0.81)	31.8		(1.00)	75.2	(0.82)	28.4		(0.95)
Race/ethnicity⁵
White	55.4	(2.00)	40.8		(1.67)	96.7	(0.43)	74.1	(0.86)	35.5		(1.31)	73.0	(0.92)	31.2		(1.19)
Black	59.5	(2.72)	44.9		(2.13)	97.1	(0.50)	67.9	(2.01)	26.1		(1.84)	67.2	(1.97)	21.9		(1.62)
Hispanic	54.8	(2.53)	36.6		(2.08)	96.2	(0.53)	69.3	(1.29)	27.7		(1.25)	68.2	(1.34)	22.8		(1.10)
Asian/Pacific Islander	38.5	(4.18)	26.7		(3.04)	96.8	(0.91)	86.5	(1.67)	55.5		(2.28)	85.1	(1.75)	50.1		(2.52)
Asian	---	(†)	---		(†)	---	(†)	---	(†)	---		(†)	---	(†)	---		(†)
Pacific Islander	---	(†)	---		(†)	---	(†)	---	(†)	---		(†)	---	(†)	---		(†)
American Indian/Alaska Native	69.6	(3.86)	45.0		(5.52)	95.6	(1.39)	49.7	(4.43)	18.2		(2.86)	48.8	(4.28)	15.3		(2.65)
Two or more races	39.4	(4.80)	44.6		(4.64)	96.9	(0.93)	79.4	(3.14)	41.4		(4.05)	78.4	(3.10)	38.9		(3.99)
Student with disabilities (SD) status
Identified as SD⁷	69.3	(1.98)	48.3		(1.88)	84.9	(1.22)	37.5	(1.67)	17.1		(1.48)	36.1	(1.64)	12.0		(1.34)
Not identified as SD	53.5	(1.70)	39.2		(1.49)	97.7	(0.38)	76.4	(0.78)	35.7		(1.10)	75.3	(0.80)	31.3		(1.03)
English learner (EL) status
EL	60.5	(3.50)	38.8		(3.06)	90.4	(1.70)	51.6	(2.96)	24.2		(2.46)	49.3	(3.09)	18.2		(2.12)
Non-EL¹⁰	54.7	(1.67)	40.0		(1.45)	96.8	(0.38)	73.6	(0.79)	34.3		(1.05)	72.5	(0.80)	29.9		(0.98)
School type
Traditional public	56.2	(1.73)	40.4		(1.47)	96.4	(0.41)	71.7	(0.78)	32.7		(1.04)	70.6	(0.78)	28.2		(0.94)
Public charter¹²	55.4	(9.46)	55.5		(10.19)	97.4	(1.09)	60.5	(10.29)	44.6		(8.56)	60.5	(10.29)	26.4	!	(8.00)
Private	41.0	(5.01)	33.0		(4.68)	99.0	(0.29)	89.0	(1.80)	46.8		(3.95)	88.2	(1.77)	44.6		(3.85)
Percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch
0–25 percent	49.1	(2.98)	42.3		(2.65)	97.3	(0.98)	78.6	(1.51)	43.4		(2.20)	77.5	(1.59)	38.6		(2.17)
26–50 percent	62.1	(2.63)	36.8		(2.43)	95.8	(0.61)	67.1	(1.52)	26.1		(1.75)	66.0	(1.53)	22.1		(1.53)
51–75 percent	59.7	(4.04)	39.2		(3.28)	96.4	(0.67)	67.9	(1.98)	29.2		(2.68)	66.7	(1.92)	23.1		(2.36)
76–100 percent	60.8	(5.97)	43.9		(5.50)	97.2	(0.98)	73.1	(3.54)	27.1		(3.04)	72.3	(3.62)	24.5		(3.00)
School locale
City	48.2	(2.82)	40.4		(2.17)	97.2	(0.46)	77.2	(1.55)	36.4		(2.03)	76.2	(1.56)	31.9		(2.06)
Suburban	49.1	(3.09)	39.6		(2.40)	97.8	(0.29)	78.6	(1.06)	41.0		(1.50)	77.7	(0.97)	36.9		(1.32)
Town	70.5	(4.13)	32.2		(4.11)	94.7	(1.16)	66.2	(1.76)	23.4		(2.45)	64.9	(1.82)	19.4		(2.21)
Rural	64.6	(3.15)	44.0		(3.49)	95.0	(1.57)	62.4	(2.00)	25.3		(1.71)	60.9	(1.86)	20.2		(1.41)
2019
Total	46.4	(0.95)	47.4		(0.81)	96.9	(0.22)	76.1	(0.54)	39.5		(0.80)	74.9	(0.54)	34.9		(0.77)
Sex
Male	47.3	(1.02)	49.7		(0.86)	96.3	(0.27)	73.2	(0.59)	42.1		(0.84)	71.8	(0.59)	36.4		(0.78)
Female	45.5	(0.98)	45.1		(0.83)	97.5	(0.21)	79.0	(0.57)	36.9		(0.91)	78.0	(0.58)	33.3		(0.88)
Race/ethnicity
White	48.6	(1.48)	46.1		(1.07)	97.3	(0.28)	77.0	(0.75)	39.5		(1.18)	76.1	(0.75)	35.0		(1.15)
Black	54.1	(1.15)	55.7		(1.32)	97.0	(0.37)	71.2	(0.81)	30.7		(1.28)	69.7	(0.79)	26.4		(1.16)
Hispanic	41.3	(0.99)	47.4		(1.09)	96.1	(0.40)	74.9	(0.78)	40.1		(1.14)	73.4	(0.84)	35.0		(1.12)
Asian/Pacific Islander	32.9	(1.67)	39.2		(1.70)	97.5	(0.40)	87.5	(1.16)	59.6		(1.75)	85.9	(1.18)	54.9		(1.85)
Asian	32.6	(1.70)	38.7		(1.74)	97.6	(0.40)	88.0	(1.20)	60.7		(1.80)	86.5	(1.23)	56.0		(1.91)
Pacific Islander	41.3	(4.57)	51.8		(5.33)	95.7	(1.64)	74.9	(4.74)	34.1		(4.94)	72.9	(4.73)	30.3		(4.75)
American Indian/Alaska Native	61.0	(3.57)	46.3		(3.04)	97.6	(0.79)	57.6	(3.66)	22.8		(2.46)	56.6	(3.54)	17.2		(2.32)
Two or more races	41.2	(2.02)	50.0		(1.93)	95.4	(0.91)	76.3	(1.40)	40.3		(1.93)	74.4	(1.48)	36.2		(1.84)
Student with disabilities (SD) status
Identified as SD⁷	59.3	(1.44)	58.6		(1.27)	91.5	(0.65)	46.1	(1.19)	22.7		(1.15)	45.1	(1.22)	16.7		(0.97)
Not identified as SD	44.9	(0.95)	46.1		(0.84)	97.5	(0.22)	79.6	(0.51)	41.5		(0.81)	78.4	(0.51)	37.0		(0.79)
English learner (EL) status
EL	51.1	(1.69)	52.4		(2.05)	92.6	(0.99)	61.4	(1.96)	35.4		(1.91)	58.7	(1.98)	27.1		(1.93)
Non-EL¹⁰	46.2	(0.98)	47.2		(0.81)	97.1	(0.22)	76.7	(0.53)	39.7		(0.82)	75.6	(0.53)	35.2		(0.79)
School type
Traditional public	46.7	(0.94)	48.8		(0.83)	96.7	(0.24)	74.3	(0.57)	38.6		(0.73)	73.0	(0.57)	33.8		(0.68)
Public charter¹³	41.3	(5.72)	47.9		(4.77)	94.1	(3.18)	76.0	(4.51)	34.9		(5.55)	74.2	(4.57)	26.7		(5.14)
Private	45.3	(4.45)	33.6		(3.72)	99.4	(0.21)	94.2	(1.24)	49.7		(3.74)	93.8	(1.26)	48.3		(3.78)
Percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch
0–25 percent	42.0	(2.95)	51.1		(1.68)	97.0	(0.71)	80.1	(1.50)	46.6		(2.24)	78.8	(1.49)	42.5		(2.19)
26–50 percent	47.7	(1.77)	48.4		(1.78)	97.1	(0.42)	74.6	(1.14)	39.0		(1.41)	73.3	(1.21)	32.8		(1.26)
51–75 percent	50.0	(1.96)	48.7		(2.08)	97.2	(0.55)	70.1	(1.36)	30.3		(1.53)	69.5	(1.38)	27.1		(1.48)
76–100 percent	39.3	(3.32)	48.2		(2.19)	94.7	(1.50)	68.9	(2.38)	30.7		(3.01)	67.0	(2.46)	25.4		(2.67)
School locale
City	40.8	(1.43)	45.0		(1.22)	96.1	(0.51)	78.0	(1.00)	46.7		(1.36)	76.6	(0.99)	41.0		(1.24)
Suburban	41.0	(1.31)	47.8		(1.10)	97.4	(0.23)	78.7	(0.70)	41.4		(1.15)	77.5	(0.72)	37.1		(1.13)
Town	65.0	(3.37)	43.2		(2.72)	96.5	(0.62)	71.2	(1.69)	25.8		(1.90)	69.8	(1.68)	22.6		(1.89)
Rural	55.4	(2.52)	52.8		(2.01)	97.3	(0.61)	70.3	(1.55)	32.5		(2.10)	69.7	(1.53)	28.0		(1.92)

---Not available.

†Not applicable.

#Rounds to zero.

!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.

‡Reporting standards not met (too few cases for a reliable estimate).

¹ Includes general life science and physical science courses.

² Includes astronomy, geology, and marine science courses.

³ Indicates graduate earned credits in both biology and chemistry courses.

⁴ Indicates graduate earned credits in all three subjects of biology, chemistry, and physics.

⁵ Race/ethnicity categories used for 1990, 2000, and 2009 are the pre-2011 categories. Black includes African American, Hispanic includes Latino, and Pacific Islander includes Native Hawaiian. Additional information was collected by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) beginning in 2011 so that results could be reported separately for Asian students, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students, and students identifying with two or more races.

⁶ Students with disabilities (SD) and English learner (EL) students were identified in 1990 by whether they had an Individualized Education Plan (IEP)/limited English proficient (LEP) questionnaire completed for them.

⁷ SD estimates include both students with an 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.

⁸ The first law allowing the establishment of charter schools was passed in 1991, and the first charter school was opened in 1992.

⁹ A school's percentage of free or reduced-price lunch students was not asked about on the NAEP 1990 school questionnaire; it had to be calculated from questions about student enrollment and number of students in a subsidized lunch program.

¹⁰ Includes students who were formerly English learners.

¹¹ Information about public charter schools was collected from the NAEP school questionnaire. None of the participating High School Transcript Study (HSTS) schools in 2000 were public charter schools.

¹² Information about public charter schools was collected from the NAEP school questionnaire.

¹³ Information about public charter schools was collected from the schools prior to the NAEP assessment.

NOTE: Totals include students for whom information on a certain student characteristic was missing. Completion of a science course means that the graduate earned credits in a science 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. The urban-centric defined school locale codes were not available for the HSTS prior to 2009. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1990, 2000, 2009, and 2019 High School Transcript Study (HSTS). (This table was prepared January 2022.)

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