Status and Trends in the Education of American Indians and Alaska Natives: 2008

NCES 2008-084
September 2008

Student Performance in Mathematics


In 2007, American Indian/Alaska Native 4th- and 8th-graders scored lower than Whites and Asians/Pacific Islanders in NAEP mathematics, but higher than Blacks. The NAEP mathematics scores of American Indian/Alaska Native 4th- and 8th-graders were similar to those of their Hispanic peers.

Figure 4.3a. Average mathematics scale scores for American Indian/Alaska Native students and for all students, by grade: 1996, 2000, 2005, and 2007
Average mathematics scale scores for American Indian/Alaska Native students and for all students, by grade: 1996, 2000, 2005, and 2007
! Interpret data with caution.
‡ Reporting standards not met.
NOTE: Scale scores range from 0 to 500. The mathematics data include students for whom accommodations were permitted. For a discussion of the mathematics scale score definitions, see http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/mathematics/scale.asp. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Total includes race/ethnicity categories not separately shown.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1996, 2000, 2005, and 2007 Mathematics Assessments, retrieved January 22, 2008, from http://www.nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nde.

Figure 4.3b. Percentage of students at given mathematics achievement levels, by grade and selected race/ethnicity: 2007
Percentage of students at given mathematics achievement levels, by grade and selected race/ethnicity: 2007
NOTE: The mathematics data include students for whom accommodations were permitted. Below basic category data not shown. For a discussion of the mathematics achievement level definitions, see http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/mathematics/achieve.asp. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Total includes race/ethnicity categories not separately shown.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2007 Mathematics Assessments, retrieved January 22, 2008, from http://www.nces.ed.gov/ nationsreportcard/nde.

Figure 4.3c. Average 4th- and 8th-grade mathematics scores for American Indian/Alaska Native students attending Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) and other public schools, by selected states: 2007
Average 4th- and 8th-grade mathematics scores for American Indian/Alaska Native students attending Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) and other public schools, by selected states: 2007
NOTE: Scale score ranges from 0 to 500. The mathematics data include students for whom accommodations were permitted. For a discussion of the mathematics scale score definitions, see http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/mathematics/scale.asp. National and state data presented in this table represent American Indian/Alaska Native students only. Estimates include students who attended BIE and other public schools.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Performance of American Indian and Alaska Native Students at Grades 4 and 8 on NAEP 2007 Reading and Mathematics Assessments (NCES 2008- 457). National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), National Indian Education Study (NIES), 2007. NAEP, 2007 Mathematics Assessments, retrieved January 22, 2008, from http://www.nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nde.

In mathematics, potential NAEP scores range from 0 to 500. In 2007, this assessment measured 4th- and 8th-grade 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.

The mathematics scores for American Indian/Alaska Native 4th- and 8th-grade students did not change significantly between the most recent years, 2005 and 2007. In 2007, American Indian/Alaska Native 4thand 8th-graders scored lower than Whites and Asians/ Pacific Islanders in NAEP mathematics, but higher than Blacks. The scores of American Indian/Alaska Native 4th- and 8th-graders were similar to the scores of Hispanic 4th- and 8th-graders.

In addition to calculating an overall mathematics scale score, NAEP data are expressed as a series of achievement levels to indicate how well students perform against expectations for what students should know and be able to do. A larger percentage of American Indians/Alaska Natives in both the 4th and 8th grades achieved "at or above basic" and "at or above proficient" than their Black peers. In the same grades, a lower percentage of American Indians/ Alaska Natives achieved "at or above basic" and "at or above proficient" than their White peers. Similar percentages of American Indian/Alaska Native and Hispanic 4th-graders (70 percent for both) scored at the "at or above basic" level. At this level for grade 8, no measurable differences were detected between American Indian/Alaska Native and Hispanic childrens' scores.

Specific states with relatively large populations of American Indian/Alaska Native students were selected for NAEP's National Indian Education Study (NIES) in the years 2005 and 2007. In 2007, American Indian/Alaska Native 4th-graders in Oklahoma had higher mathematics scale scores, on average, than their American Indian/Alaska Native peers nationwide. In contrast, the average mathematics scale scores of 4th- and 8th-graders nationally were higher than the scores of American Indian/Alaska Native students in New Mexico and South Dakota in 2005 and 2007. In the eleven states participating in the 2007 NIES, the percentage of American Indian/ Alaska Native students achieving at or above the basic level ranged from 51 percent in Arizona to 80 percent in Oklahoma for 4th- graders and from 37 percent in New Mexico to 60 percent in Oklahoma for 8th-graders.

View Table View Table 4.3a View Table View Table 4.3b View Table View Table 4.3c