NAEP Mathematics: National Trends and Student Skills

National Trends and Student Skills

National Score Trends

Higher average mathematics score in 2024 reflected in score increases for middle- and higher-performing students

Average scores are reported on the NAEP mathematics scale at grade 4 that ranges from 0 to 500. NAEP also reports scores at five selected percentiles to show the progress made by lower- (10th and 25th percentiles), middle- (50th percentile), and higher- (75th and 90th percentiles) performing students. The percentile is defined by the percentage of students scoring lower than a particular scale score.

The average mathematics score for fourth-graders in 2024 was 2 points higher than in 2022, the previous assessment year, and 24 points higher compared to the first assessment year in 1990.
Compared to 2022, the 2024 mathematics score increased by 2 points for middle-performing students at the 50th percentile and by 3 points and 2 points, respectively, for higher-performing students at the 75th and 90th percentiles. Scores for lower-performing students (10th and 25th percentiles) were not significantly different from those in 2022.
Compared to 1990, mathematics scores for lower- (10th and 25th percentiles), middle- (50th percentile) and higher- (75th and 90th percentiles) performing students were higher in 2024.

The chart below shows the trends in average mathematics scores and scores for lower- (10th and 25th percentiles) and higher- (75th and 90th percentiles) performing students beginning in 1990 along with the cut score indicating the lower end of the score range for each NAEP achievement level: NAEP Basic, NAEP Proficient, and NAEP Advanced. Read a description of each NAEP achievement level by clicking the question mark icons. Read more about NAEP achievement levels and how they are set. Please note, NAEP achievement levels are to be used on a trial basis and should be interpreted and used with caution.

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Figure Trend in fourth-grade NAEP mathematics average and selected percentile scores

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Click on a data point or key for more details. Click again to return to the overview for all categories.

National Achievement-level Trends

Increase in percentages of fourth-graders at or above NAEP Basic, at or above NAEP Proficient, and at NAEP Advanced compared to 2022

In 2024, thirty-nine percent of fourth-grade students performed at or above the NAEP Proficient level on the mathematics assessment, which was 3 percentage points higher compared to 2022 and 27 percentage points higher than in 1990, the first assessment year.
Seventy-six percent of fourth-graders performed at or above NAEP Basic in 2024, which was 1 percentage point higher compared to 2022 and 26 percentage points higher than in 1990, the first assessment year.
Nine percent of fourth-grade students performed at the NAEP Advanced level in mathematics, which was 1 percentage point higher than in 2022 and 7 percentage points higher than in 1990.

NAEP achievement levels are performance standards that describe what students should know and be able to do. Results are reported as percentages of students performing at or above three achievement levels (NAEP Basic, NAEP Proficient, and NAEP Advanced). Students performing at or above the NAEP Proficient level on NAEP assessments demonstrate solid academic performance and competency over challenging subject matter. It should be noted that the NAEP Proficient achievement level does not represent grade-level proficiency as determined by other assessment standards (e.g., state or district assessments). NAEP achievement levels are to be used on a trial basis and should be interpreted and used with caution. Find out more about NAEP mathematics achievement levels.

NAEP achievement-level setting is based on the judgments of a broadly representative panel of teachers, education specialists, and members of the general public. The authorizing legislation for NAEP requires that the achievement levels be used on a trial basis until the Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) determines that the achievement levels are reasonable, valid, and informative to the public (20 USC § 9622[e][2][C]). The NCES Commissioner's determination is to be based on a congressionally mandated, rigorous, and independent evaluation. The latest evaluation of the achievement levels was conducted by a committee convened by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in 2016. The evaluation concluded that further evidence should be gathered to determine whether the achievement levels are reasonable, valid, and informative. Accordingly, the NCES Commissioner determined that the trial status of the achievement levels should be maintained at this time. Read more about how NAEP achievement levels are set. In 2018, the National Assessment Governing Board issued a revised Policy Statement clarifying that the NAEP Proficient level is not intended to reflect grade-level performance expectations but is specific to performance on NAEP assessments. Read the Governing Board Policy Statement.

The chart below lists the percentages of fourth-grade students performing at each of the NAEP mathematics achievement levels in 2024 and previous assessment years. Set the baseline at either NAEP Basic or NAEP Proficient to see the percentages of students performing at or above that NAEP achievement level. Click "Show all achievement levels" to see the percentages of fourth-grade students at each of the NAEP achievement levels. Click "Hide all achievement levels" to see the percentages of students at or above the selected baseline NAEP achievement level. Use the slider to change focal years.

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Baseline

Figure Trend in fourth-grade NAEP mathematics achievement-level results

NOTE: NAEP achievement levels are to be used on a trial basis and should be interpreted and used with caution. It should be noted that the NAEP Proficient achievement level does not represent grade level proficiency as determined by other assessment standards (e.g., state or district assessments).

National Student Skills

Student performance and skills on mathematics assessment questions

The NAEP mathematics assessment measures students' knowledge and skills in five broad content areas of mathematics (Number properties and operations; Measurement; Geometry; Data analysis, statistics, and probability; and Algebra) and their ability to apply their content area knowledge to problem-solving situations. The NAEP mathematics framework guides the content and development of the mathematics assessment at grades 4 and 8. As specified in the framework, questions are classified by mathematical subtopic which is used to determine the key concept or skill that should be measured within each content area. Read more about the NAEP mathematics assessment.

To better understand students’ mathematics knowledge and skills across the content areas, student performance on samples of publicly released questions from the 2024 mathematics assessment at grade 4 are presented below. Student performance is expressed as the percentage of receiving a full credit for each question in 2024 compared to performance on the same set of questions that were administered as part of the 2022 and 2019 assessments. Click on "show details" for each question to see the mathematics content area, subtopic, question type, and description of the mathematics skills assessed.

One way to understand the NAEP mathematics scale is by seeing the skills demonstrated by students performing at different points on the scale and within the score range for each NAEP achievement level. The descriptions below indicate mathematics knowledge and skills demonstrated by fourth-grade students on selected questions administered as part of the 2024 mathematics assessment. For example, fourth-grade students with a score of 262 (NAEP Proficient range) were likely to correctly answer a number properties and operations question that required them to “solve a multi-step story problem”.

Figure National grade 4 NAEP mathematics item map in 2024 and percentage of fourth-grade students who received the full credit for the listed sample questions in 2024 and 2022

NOTE: The position of a question on the scale represents the scale score attained by students who had a 65 percent probability of obtaining credit at a specific level of constructed-response questions or polytomously scored selected-response questions, a 74 percent probability of correctly answering a four-option single-selection multiple choice type of selected-response question, or a 72 percent probability of correctly answering a five-option single-selection multiple choice type of selected-response question in certain subjects. For dichotomously scored, non-single-selection multiple-choice type of selected-response questions, the position reflects the scale score for students with a 65 percent probability of obtaining credit, unless evidence indicates a high rate of guessing, in which case the probability is recalculated as for a single-selection multiple-choice question. Selected-response question includes question types such as single-selection multiple choice, matching, grid, zone, and in-line choice. There is no direct relationship between the position of a question on the scale and the percentage of students attaining credit at the associated level in any given assessment year. The percentage differences between the assessment years are based on unrounded numbers as opposed to the rounded numbers shown in the report.

View Student Skills by Jurisdiction

Explore the State and District Profile Tools to see students’ demonstrated mathematics knowledge and skills on the publicly released assessment questions for individual states/jurisdictions and participating TUDA districts.

Select a state/jurisdiction

Alabama

Additional NAEP Sample Question Resources

NAEP Questions Tool

See the NAEP Questions Tool to learn more about released mathematics questions from the 2024 assessment and previous assessment years. See examples of students’ answers to constructed-response questions, scorer comments, and the percentage of students who answered each question correctly.

Detailsfor NAEP Questions Tool

Experience NAEP Assessment Questions

You can try test questions that were administered to students as part of the 2024 mathematics assessment. After completing the questions, you can see the correct answers, scoring rubrics, and student performance results.

Detailsfor Experience NAEP Assessment Questions

NAEP Item Maps

One way to understand the NAEP mathematics scale is by seeing the types of questions that students performing at different points on the scale are likely to answer correctly. See the 2024 item map with a range of skills demonstrated on the mathematics scale and within the score range for each NAEP achievement level.

Detailsfor NAEP Item Maps

NOTE: Beginning with the 2017 assessment, NAEP mathematics results at grades 4 and 8 are from a digitally based assessment; prior to 2017, results were from a paper-and-pencil-based assessment for grades 4 and 8. For more information, see the About page. The NAEP mathematics scale ranges from 0 to 500 at grades 4 and 8. Accommodations were not permitted in NAEP mathematics assessments prior to 1996 at the national level. 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, 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. Comparison results are based on a statistical significance level set at .05, with appropriate adjustments for multiple comparisons. 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, 1990–2024 Mathematics Assessments.

NAEP Report Card: Mathematics