U.S. Education "Report Card" Points to Continued Math Gains

October 1, 2007

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), called the "nation's report card," which the U.S. Department of Education released on Sept. 25, 2007, indicates that fourth- and eighth-graders again achieved higher mathematics scores than they did in the previous year. White, black, and Hispanic students all scored higher in 2007 than in any other assessment year.

National average eighth-grade math scores rose from 263 in 1990 to 281 in 2007 (on a scale ranging from 0 to 500). Between 1990 and 2007, math scores at fourth grade went up 27 points. Nearly 40% of fourth-graders attained the level termed "proficient" — a threefold increase compared to the level in 1990 — and 5% were "advanced." More than 30% of eighth-graders were in the proficient category, compared to 15% in 1990, and 7% were advanced.

To come up with the data in NAEP, the Department of Education tested more than 700,000 students in all states and the District of Columbia. As reported in the Washington Post, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said, "We are going in the right direction, and we don't need to let up now." She credited the five-year-old "No Child Left Behind" law for the results.

The NAEP mathematics assessment was designed to measure students' knowledge and skills in mathematics and their ability to apply their knowledge and skills in problem-solving situations.

Source: National Assessment Governing Board, Sept. 25, 2007; Department of Education, Sept. 25, 2007; Washington Post, Sept. 26, 2007.