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FIGURE 7:

U.S. Mathematics and Science Performance at a Glance

How Do U.S. Students Compare with		At Grade 4?	At Grade 8?
the International Average in...?		(26 nations)	(41 nations)
	Mathematics overall?	Above	Below
	Science overall?	Above	Above
Mathematics Content Areas:
	Data representation, analysis, and probability?	Above	Above
	Geometry?	Above	Below
	Whole numbers?	Above	x
	Fractions and proportionality?	Above	x
	Patterns, relations, and functions?	Above	x
	Measurement, estimation, and number sense?	Below	x
	Fractions and number sense?	x	Same
	Algebra?	x	Same
	Measurement?	x	Below
	Proportionality?	x	Below
Science Content Areas
	Earth science?	Above	Above
	Life science?	Above	Above
	Environment and the nature of science?	Above	Above
	Physical science?	Above	x
	Chemistry?	x	Same
	Physics?	x	Same
What Percentage of U.S. Students Would Be
in the International Top 10 Percent in...?		At Grade 4?	At Grade 8?
	Mathematics?	9%	5%
	Science?	16%	13%

KEY:
Above = U.S. average performance higher than the average of participating nations at that grade.
Below = U.S. average performance lower than the average of participating nations at that grade.
Same = U.S. average performance not significantly different than the average of participating nations at that grade.
x = Separate content area score not reported for this grade level.

SOURCE: Mullis et al. (1997) Mathematics Achievement in the Primary School Years. Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA; and Martin et al. (1997) Science Achievement in the Primary School Years. Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.(1996). Pursuing Excellence: A Study of U.S. Eighth-Grade Mathematics and Science Teaching, Learning, Curriculum, and Achievement in International Context. NCES 97-198, Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.