Student Questionnaire Results

Students' opportunities to learn about and use technology and engineering happen both inside and outside the classroom. Therefore, the 2018 TEL assessment included a student survey questionnaire asking about these experiences across and within the three content areas—Technology and Society, Design and Systems, and Information and Communication Technology. School administrators also answered a TEL survey questionnaire. Learn more about NAEP survey questionnaires including how NAEP ensures the privacy of questionnaire respondents.

Findings are presented for individual survey questions as well as for indices composed of a set of related survey questions that measure particular topics of interest. Learn more about the development of NAEP survey questionnaire indices.

The highlighted findings demonstrate the range of information available from the 2018 NAEP TEL survey questionnaires. They do not provide a complete picture of students' learning experiences in and outside of school. The TEL student and school questionnaire data can be explored further using the NAEP Data Explorer.

Interpreting the Results
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NAEP survey questionnaire responses provide additional information for understanding NAEP performance results. Although comparisons are made in students' performance based on student, teacher, and school characteristics and educational experiences, these results cannot be used to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between the characteristics or experiences and student achievement. NAEP is not designed to identify the causes of performance differences. 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, available resources, and the demographic characteristics of the student body. 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 used as the unit of analysis when reporting NAEP survey questionnaire responses. The percentages shown are weighted and represent students or students whose school administrators indicated a specific response on the survey questionnaire. Some student responses are missing due to the inability to link students to their school administrator's responses to the survey questionnaire or due to nonresponse from students or school administrators. The denominator of the percentages presented excludes all students with missing information in data for the analysis. To find missing rates, use the NAEP Data Explorer.

Technology and Engineering Coursetaking in Eighth Grade
Higher percentage of eighth-grade students reported taking at least one course related to technology or engineering compared to 2014

In 2018, fifty-seven percent of students at grade 8 reported that they had taken or were taking at least one of the following technology- or engineering-related classes: Industrial technology; engineering; classes that involve learning to use, program, or build computers; or any other type of technology-related class. The percentage of students who reported taking a technology- or engineering-related class in 2018 was 5 percentage points higher compared to 2014.

Students who reported taking at least one technology- or engineering-related class in 2018 had a higher TEL score on average than those who reported not taking any technology- or engineering-related classes.

Percentage of eighth-grade students assessed in NAEP technology and engineering literacy (TEL), by students who reported taking at least one technology/engineering-related class: 2014 and 2018

TEL Coursetaking

The percentages of eighth-graders who reported that they had taken or were taking at least one technology- or engineering-related class in 2018 were higher for several student groups in comparison to 2014. For example, results by race/ethnicity show increases in technology- and engineering-related coursetaking in 2018 for Black, Hispanic, and Asian students.

Click View Question Details to see detailed results for students overall and for selected student groups.

All Coursetaking Questions and Responses

Percentage of eighth-grade students assessed in NAEP technology and engineering literacy (TEL), by students who reported taking at least one technology/engineering-related class: 2014 and 2018

2014
2018

Coursetaking by Student Group

Percentage of eighth-grade students assessed in NAEP technology and engineering literacy (TEL), by race/ethnicity and students who reported taking at least one technology/engineering-related class: 2014 and 2018

Student Confidence in Technology and Engineering
Higher scores for eighth-grade students who were more confident in their ability to do technology- and engineering-related activities

In 2018, fifty-three percent of eighth-grade students reported that they believed they could perform a variety of technology- and engineering-related tasks such as taking something apart to fix it or see how it works.

Students who were more confident in their ability to do technology- and engineering-related activities scored higher on average in TEL than students who were less confident in doing such activities.

Percentage and average score of eighth-grade students assessed in NAEP technology and engineering literacy (TEL), by students' belief in their capacity to perform various technology/engineering-related tasks: 2018

TEL Coursetaking

See the detailed results for this question in NAEP Data Explorer:

Learning About and Engaging in Technology and Engineering in School
Students were asked how frequently they learned about TEL topics in school

As part of the 2018 TEL assessment, eighth-grade students answered questions about how frequently they learned about TEL-related topics or engaged in TEL-related activities in school. For example, across the three content areas, students were asked how often they learned about the following: Inventions that change the way people live (Technology and Society), designing or creating something to solve a problem (Design and Systems), and how to credit others for their ideas (Information and Communication Technology).

Click Show Detail in the charts below to see the percentages and scores of eighth-grade students who reported they learned about TEL-related topics or engaged in TEL-related activities in school.

Technology and Society

In school, how often have you learned about or discussed inventions that change the way people live?

Percentage of eighth-grade students assessed in NAEP technology and engineering literacy (TEL) who reported that they learned about or discussed inventions that change the way people live in school: 2018

Percentage and average Technology and Society score of eighth-grade students assessed in NAEP technology and engineering literacy (TEL) who reported that they learned about or discussed inventions that change the way people live in school: 2018

See the detailed results for this question in NAEP Data Explorer:

Design and Systems

In school, how often have you learned about or discussed designing or creating something to solve a problem?

Percentage of eighth-grade students assessed in NAEP technology and engineering literacy (TEL) who reported that they learned about or discussed designing or creating something to solve a problem in school: 2018

Percentage and average Design and Systems score of eighth-grade students assessed in NAEP technology and engineering literacy (TEL) who reported that they learned about or discussed designing or creating something to solve a problem in school: 2018

See the detailed results for this question in NAEP Data Explorer:

Information and Communication Technology

In school, how often do you learn about or discuss how to credit others for their ideas?

Percentage of eighth-grade students assessed in NAEP technology and engineering literacy (TEL) who reported that they learned about or discussed how to credit others for their ideas in school: 2018

Percentage and average Information and Communication Technology score of eighth-grade students assessed in NAEP technology and engineering literacy (TEL) who reported that they learned about or discussed how to credit others for their ideas in school: 2018

See the detailed results for this question in NAEP Data Explorer:

Learning About and Engaging in Technology and Engineering Outside of School

As part of the 2018 TEL assessment, eighth-grade students answered questions about how frequently they learned about technology- or engineering-related topics or engaged in TEL-related activities outside of school. For example, across the three content areas, students were asked how often they learned about choices people make that affect the environment (Technology and Society), if they ever took something apart in order to fix it or see how it works (Design and Systems), and how often they used a computer or other digital technology to create, edit, or organize digital media (Information and Communication Technology).

Click Show Detail in the charts below to see the percentages and scores of eighth-grade students who reported they learned about TEL-related topics or engaged in TEL-related activities outside of school.

Technology and Society

Outside of school, how often have you learned about or discussed choices that people make that affect the environment?

Percentage of eighth-grade students assessed in NAEP technology and engineering literacy (TEL) who reported that they learned about or discussed choices that people make that affect the environment outside of school: 2018

Percentage and average Technology and Society score of eighth-grade students assessed in NAEP technology and engineering literacy (TEL) who reported that they learned about or discussed choices that people make that affect the environment outside of school: 2018

See the detailed results for this question in NAEP Data Explorer:

Design and Systems

Outside of school, how often have you ever taken something apart in order to fix it or see how it works?

Percentage of eighth-grade students assessed in NAEP technology and engineering literacy (TEL) who reported that they took something apart in order to fix it or see how it works outside of school: 2018

Percentage and average Design and Systems score of eighth-grade students assessed in NAEP technology and engineering literacy (TEL) who reported that they took something apart in order to fix it or see how it works outside of school: 2018

See the detailed results for this question in NAEP Data Explorer:

Information and Communication Technology

Outside of school, how often do you use a computer or other digital technology to create, edit, or organize digital media?

Percentage of eighth-grade students assessed in NAEP technology and engineering literacy (TEL) who reported that they used a computer or other digital technology to create, edit, or organize digital media outside of school: 2018

Percentage and average Information and Communication Technology score of eighth-grade students assessed in NAEP technology and engineering literacy (TEL) who reported that they used a computer or other digital technology to create, edit, or organize digital media outside of school: 2018

See the detailed results for this question in NAEP Data Explorer: