NAEP survey questionnaire responses provide additional information for understanding NAEP performance results. The results highlighted below are for computer availability at home (age 9) and mathematics coursetaking (age 13).
NAEP is not designed to identify the causes of performance differences. Therefore, results must be interpreted with caution. There are many factors that may influence average student achievement, including local educational policies and practices, the quality of teachers, and available resources. Such factors may change over time and vary among student groups.
NAEP reports results using widely accepted statistical standards; findings are reported based on a statistical significance level set at .05, with appropriate adjustments for multiple comparisons. Students are always the unit of analysis when reporting NAEP survey questionnaire responses. The percentages shown are weighted and represent students who indicated a specific response on the survey questionnaire. Some student responses are missing as a result of nonresponse. The denominator of the percentages presented excludes all students with missing information in the data for the analysis. The percentage distributions of reported survey response categories could change when students with missing data are included in the denominator. To find missing rates and explore student questionnaire data further, use the NAEP Data Explorer.
Lower percentage of 9-year-olds reported having a computer at home to use compared to 2012
The current question on the long-term trend (LTT) student questionnaire: "Is there a computer at home that you use?" has been asked of 9-year-olds since 2004. The LTT questionnaire did not ask about specific technologies such as laptops, tablets, or smartphones.
Seventy-four percent of 9-year-old students in 2020 reported having a computer at home to use, compared to 88 percent in 2012.
Figure | Trend in percentages of 9-year-old students in NAEP long-term trend mathematics, by whether students have a computer at home to use
Year
Have a computer at home to use
Don't have a computer at home to use
2020
2012
2008
2004
Loading...
2020
Compared to their lower-performing peers, higher-performing 9-year-old students more likely to report having a computer at home to use
In 2020, compared to 9-year-olds performing below the 25th percentile, a higher percentage of 9-year-olds performing at or above the 75th percentile reported that they had a computer at home to use.
Figure | Percentage of 9-year-old students in NAEP long-term trend mathematics, by whether students have a computer at home to use and by percentiles: 2020
Whether students have a computer at home to use
Students below 25th percentile
Students at or above 75th percentile
Have a computer at home to use
Don't have a computer at home to use
* Significantly different (p < .05) from students performing at or above the 75th percentile.
NOTE: Results for 1986–99 are from the original assessment format, and results for 2004–20 are from the revised assessment format. See more information about the two assessment formats. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding or the omission of categories. Although the estimates (e.g., average scores or percentages) are shown as rounded numbers in the charts, the positions of the data points in the graphics are based on the unrounded numbers. Unrounded numbers were used for calculating the differences between the estimates, and for the statistical comparison test when the estimates were compared to each other. Not all apparent differences between estimates are statistically significant.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), various years, 1986–2020 Long-Term Trend Mathematics Assessments.
