Classroom Context: Coursetaking

As part of the 2009 mathematics assessment, twelfth-graders were asked to report the highest level mathematics course they have taken. The full text of the question, the corresponding percentages, and scale scores of students who responded within each category are shown below.

Which courses have you taken from eighth grade to the present?

A. Calculus
B. Pre-calculus
C. Trigonometry/Algebra II
D. Geometry
E. Algebra I or less

Grade 12

Percentages of Students

Average Scores

More than 40 percent of twelfth graders reported taking calculus or precalculus.

percentages, grade 12, highest level of mathematics course taken

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. See complete data.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2009 Mathematics Assessment.

Browse questionnaires for the NAEP assessments.