NOTE: Beginning with the 2017 assessment, NAEP mathematics results are from a digitally based assessment; prior to 2017, results were from a paper-and-pencil based assessment. The NAEP mathematics scale ranges from 0–500 at grades 4 and 8. Accommodations were not permitted in NAEP mathematics assessments prior to 1996 at the national level. Results are not shown for data points where the sample sizes are insufficient to permit a reliable estimate or where data are not available. Black includes African American, and Hispanic includes Latino. Race categories exclude Hispanic origin. In compliance with new standards from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for collecting and reporting data on race/ethnicity, additional information was collected beginning in 2011 so that results could be reported separately for Asian students and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students. Students who identified with two or more of the racial/ethnic groups (e.g., White and Black) would have been classified as "other" and reported as part of the "unclassified" category prior to 2011, and classified as "Two or More Races" in 2011 and later assessment years. Results for these students are presented under the "Two or More Races" category in the graphics and tables in the report. For the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) eligibility category, results have been reported since 2003 when the quality of the data on students' eligibility for the program improved. Beginning in the 2014-15 school year, states could additionally categorize students as eligible for NSLP by including them in their Community Eligibility Provision; therefore, the percentage of students categorized as eligible may have increased in comparison to 2013 due in part to this provision. Readers should interpret NSLP trend results with caution. See more information about racial/ethnic categories and the availability of the NSLP data at
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/mathematics/interpret_results.aspx. The category "students with disabilities" includes students identified as having either an Individualized Education Program or protection under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The results for students with disabilities and English language learners are based on students who were assessed and cannot be generalized to the total population of such students. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. 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, 1990–2017 Mathematics Assessments.
In 2017, average mathematics scores for most student groups at grade 4 were not significantly different in comparison to 2015, except for students eligible for the National School Lunch Program, students attending city schools, and students with disabilities who showed decreases by 1-, 2-, and 4-points, respectively.
In comparison to the first assessment year in 1990, average fourth-grade mathematics scores were higher for White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian/Pacific Islander students, male and female students, and students attending public and Catholic schools.
See trends in average scores for selected student groups by clicking on the thumbnails below. Scroll down the page to find out how percentages of student groups have changed over time.
The Type of School dropdown below presents the results for Catholic schools (a subcategory of private schools) and public schools. In 2017, results for private schools overall did not meet the minimum participation rate guideline for reporting and therefore are not included here. See more information about type of school and other student demographic groups reported by NAEP.