Figure 4.3. Average mathematics scale scores, by grade and selected race/ethnicity: 1996, 2000, and 2003

! Interpret data with caution. ‡ Reporting standards not met. NOTE: Accommodations were permitted. Scale score ranges from 0 to 500. For a discussion of the mathematics scale score definitions, see http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/mathematics/scale.asp. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1996, 2000, and 2003 Mathematics Assessments.

The NAEP mathematics assessment measures students' abilities in five content strands: number sense, properties, and operations; measurement; geometry and spatial sense; data analysis, statistics, and probability; and algebra and functions.

In the 2003 mathematics assessment, American Indian/Alaska Native students had lower average scores than White and Asian/Pacific Islander students in the 4th and 8th grades. American Indian/Alaska Native 4th-graders scored higher than Blacks and similar to Hispanics, while American Indian/Alaska Native 8th-graders scored above their Black and Hispanic peers.

As with reading, NAEP uses a series of achievement levels for mathematics. American Indians/Alaska Natives in both the 4th and 8th grades had higher percentages "at or above basic" and "at or above proficient" than their Black peers. In the same grades, American Indians/Alaska Natives had lower percentages "at or above basic" and "at or above proficient" than their White and Asian/Pacific Islander peers.

View Table 4.3a

View Table 4.3b