Disparities in Performance in Coursework

Last Updated: August 2023 | Suggested Citation

The 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) High School Transcript Study (HSTS) collected and analyzed transcripts for a representative sample of America’s public and private high school graduates. The study examines the types of courses 2019 high school graduates took during high school, how many credits they earned, and the grades they received. Using data from this study, indicator 4, Performance in Coursework, presents three constructs: success in classes (measured by course completion at different curriculum levels), credit accumulation, and grade point average (GPA).

Curriculum Levels

Curriculum levels can be indicative of success in classes and college preparedness for high school graduates. Curriculum levels are defined by the academic courses graduates take and the number of Carnegie credits they earn in selected course subjects. There are three curriculum levels: standard, midlevel, and rigorous.¹¹ For analysis purposes, graduates who did not meet the requirements for a standard curriculum are noted as having a below standard curriculum. The midlevel and rigorous curriculum levels require high school graduates to take select mathematics and science courses, such as algebra, precalculus, calculus, geometry, biology, chemistry, and physics. The results below show completed curriculum levels of high school graduates by gender and race/ethnicity.

While the rigor of the curriculum attained by high school graduates in 1990 was similar for both male and female high school graduates, the distribution of high school graduates across levels differed by gender in 2019. Compared with males, a higher percentage of female graduates attained a midlevel curriculum. Conversely, a lower percentage of female graduates attained a standard or below standard curriculum compared with males.

A higher percentage of female high school graduates attained a midlevel curriculum than male graduates in 2000, 2009, and 2019. In 2019, about 54 percent of female high school graduates attained a midlevel curriculum, 6 percent higher compared to the 48 percent of male graduates who attained a midlevel curriculum.
A higher percentage of male graduates attained a standard curriculum than female graduates, while the percentages of male and female graduates attaining a rigorous curriculum did not significantly differ.
Compared to 2009, the percentage of graduates with a below standard curriculum in 2019 decreased 8 percentage points for male graduates and 7 percentage points for female graduates.

Important to note is that for both males and females, a lower percentage of high school graduates attained a below standard curriculum in 2019 than in 1990. A higher percentage of both male and female high school graduates attained standard, midlevel, and rigorous curriculum in 2019 than in 1990.

Figure 1. Percentage distribution of high school graduates across attained curriculum levels, by student gender: Various years, 1990–2019

* Significantly different (p < .05) from 2019.

NOTE: Details may not sum to total due to rounding. A graduate who attains the standard curriculum earned at least four Carnegie credits of English and three Carnegie credits each of social studies, mathematics, and science. A graduate who attains a midlevel curriculum earned at least four Carnegie credits in English, three Carnegie credits in mathematics (including credits in algebra and geometry), three Carnegie credits in science (including credits in two among the subjects of biology, chemistry, and physics), three Carnegie credits in social studies, and one Carnegie credit in world languages. A graduate who attains a rigorous curriculum earned at least four Carnegie credits in English, four Carnegie credits in mathematics (including credits in precalculus or calculus), three Carnegie credits in science (including credits in all three subjects of biology, chemistry, and physics), three Carnegie credits in social studies, and three Carnegie credits in world languages. Graduates with curricula that do not meet the requirements for the standard level are considered as “Below standard.”

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) High School Transcript Study, various years, 1990–2019.

The percentage of high school students that attained a rigorous curriculum increased for each of the four reported racial/ethnic groups between 1990 and 2019. The distribution of high school graduates across the levels differed by racial/ethnic group in each reporting year: 1990, 2000, 2009, and 2019.

Twenty-eight percent of Asian/Pacific Islander high school graduates attained a rigorous curriculum in 2019. The other reported student racial/ethnic groups had comparatively lower percentages attaining a rigorous curriculum. Thirteen percent of White graduates, 10 percent of Hispanic graduates, and 5 percent of Black graduates attained a rigorous curriculum in 2019.
There were no significant changes in the percentages of graduates attaining a rigorous curriculum in 2019 compared to 2009 for any of the reported student racial/ethnic groups.
Compared to 2009, among the four reported student racial/ethnic groups, only White high school graduates saw an increase in the percentage that attained a midlevel curriculum in 2019.
White, Black, and Hispanic graduates saw a decrease in the percentage of graduates with a below standard curriculum over the same period (2009 to 2019).

Figure 2. Percentage distribution of high school graduates across attained curriculum levels, by student race/ethnicity: Various years, 1990–2019

* Significantly different (p < .05) from 2019.

Accumulating Credits

An important measure of course taking for high school transcript studies is the number of credits earned, because it indicates how many courses a high school graduate took overall or by subject. All credits from transcripts were converted to Carnegie credits. One Carnegie credit is equivalent to a year-long course. The results below show student credit accumulations by gender and race/ethnicity.

Both male and female high school graduates earned more Carnegie credits in 2019 than in 2009.
Female high school graduates earned an average of 28.3 Carnegie credits in 2019, an increase compared to the 27.3 credits earned by female graduates in 2009.
Male graduates earned an average of 27.9 credits in 2019, an increase compared to the 27.0 credits earned by male graduates in 2009.
While the difference in the average total Carnegie credits by gender was significant in all four years, the 2019 female-male gap of 0.4 Carnegie credits was not significantly different from the female-male gaps in credits appearing in 1990, 2000, and 2009.

To view the female-male gap data in the report, visit the 2019 NAEP High School Transcript Study (HSTS) Results page, select the “Gender” category, and then select the “See table” option.

Figure 3. Average total Carnegie credits earned by high school graduates, by student gender: Various years, 1990–2019

* Significantly different (p < .05) from 2019.

White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian/Pacific Islander high school graduates all earned more Carnegie credits in 2019 than those same racial/ethnic groups did in 2009.
The differences ranged from a 0.8 credit increase for Black graduates to a 1.2 credit increase for Hispanic graduates.
However, there were no significant changes in the 2019 gaps between these four racial/ethnic groups compared to 2009.

To view the racial/ethnic gap data from 1990, 2000, 2009, and 2019 in the report, visit the 2019 NAEP High School Transcript Study (HSTS) Results page, select the “Race/Ethnicity” category, and then select the “See table” option.

Figure 4. Average total Carnegie credits earned by high school graduates, by student race/ethnicity: Various years, 1990–2019

* Significantly different (p < .05) from 2019.

NOTE: Race categories exclude Hispanic origin. Black includes African American, Hispanic includes Latino, and Pacific Islander includes Native Hawaiian. HSTS racial/ethnic trend reporting does not include American Indian/Alaska Native or Other categories.

Grade Point Average (GPA)

Grade point average (GPA) indicates how well a high school graduate performed in their overall coursework or within a selected subject. Schools across the United States use a variety of grading systems, so the letter and numeric grades reported on the transcripts need to be standardized so they can be compared. All grade point averages have been standardized to a 4-point grading scale, also known as the A-B-C-D-F grading scale, where an A is equal to 4 grading points, a B is equal to 3 grading points, and so on. The grading points are summed across the courses on a graduate’s transcript, and then divided by the Carnegie credits listed on the transcript to get the standardized GPA, which can range from 0.00 to 4.00. Courses in which a student does not receive a grade, such as pass/fail and audited courses, do not factor into the GPA calculation. The results below show student GPAs by gender and race/ethnicity.

In 2019, female graduates had an average overall GPA of 3.23, which was higher than male graduates’ average overall GPA of 3.00.
The 2019 female-male average overall GPA gap of 0.23 points was higher compared to the 0.20 point gap in 2009.

To view the GPA by gender data in the report, visit 2019 NAEP High School Transcript Study (HSTS) Results page, select the “Gender” category, and then select the “See table” option.

Figure 5. Average overall grade point average earned by high school graduates, by student gender: Various years, 1990–2019

* Significantly different (p < .05) from 2019.

The 2019 average overall GPAs of high school graduates in the four reported student racial/ethnic groups (White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian/Pacific Islander) increased compared to 1990. The gains ranged from 0.34 points for Hispanic graduates to 0.52 points for Asian/Pacific Islander graduates. Asian/Pacific Islander graduates earned an average overall GPA of 3.39, the highest of all the reported student racial/ethnic groups in 2019.
The gaps in average overall GPA between White high school graduates and graduates in other reported student racial/ethnic groups did not change significantly in 2019 compared to 2000 and 2009.

To view the GPA by race/ethnicity data in the report, visit the 2019 NAEP High School Transcript Study (HSTS) Results page, select the “Race/ethnicity” category, and then select the “See table” option.

Figure 6. Average overall grade point average earned by high school graduates, by student race/ethnicity: Various years, 1990–2019

* Significantly different (p < .05) from 2019.

Findings in this indicator come from the NAEP High School Transcript Study (HSTS).

¹¹A graduate who attains the standard curriculum earned at least four Carnegie credits of English and three Carnegie credits each of social studies, mathematics, and science. A graduate who attains a midlevel curriculum earned at least four Carnegie credits in English, three Carnegie credits in mathematics (including credits in algebra and geometry), three Carnegie credits in science (including credits in two among the subjects of biology, chemistry, and physics), three Carnegie credits in social studies, and one Carnegie credit in world languages. A graduate who attains a rigorous curriculum earned at least four Carnegie credits in English, four Carnegie credits in mathematics (including credits in precalculus or calculus), three Carnegie credits in science (including credits in all three subjects of biology, chemistry, and physics), three Carnegie credits in social studies, and three Carnegie credits in world languages. Graduates with curricula that do not meet the requirements for the standard level are considered as “below standard.”

Suggested Citation

National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). Performance in Coursework. Equity in Education Dashboard. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved [date], from [URL].