Top Mathematics Story for Urban Districts: Scores for most districts higher than in 2003, but few made gains since 2007

In comparison to 2003, scores were higher in 2009 for students in large cities and in most participating districts at both grades. Average scores for students in large cities were higher in 2009 than in 2007 at both grades 4 and 8; however, only two participating districts at each grade showed gains.

See a summary of major findings.

Dig Deeper into Urban District Data

With 18 participating urban districts and results spanning various years, there is plenty of mathematics district-level data to explore. Use this data visualization tool to find out how districts compare and how performance over time changes for students by family income and race/ethnicity.

Top Mathematics Story: Mathematics scores up since 2007 at grade 8, but unchanged at grade 4

While still higher than the scores in the six assessment years from 1990 to 2005, the overall average score for fourth-graders in 2009 was unchanged from the score in 2007. The upward trend seen in earlier assessments for eighth-graders continued with a 2-point increase from 2007 to 2009.

See a summary of major findings.

Dig Deeper into the Nation

The Proficient level has been set as the goal for student performance by the National Assessment Governing Board. Dig deeper into the trends of student performance at the Proficient level by viewing the series of charts below.

Overall, the percentage of fourth-graders in the nation performing at Proficient in mathematics has doubled since 1990, the first year the mathematics assessment was administered.

Explore the grade 4 percentages of students at or above each achievement level.

The percentage of eighth-graders at Proficient has also approximately doubled since 1990.

Explore the grade 8 percentages of students at or above each achievement level.

Higher percentages of fourth-grade Black and Hispanic students are at Proficient in 2009 than in 1990, while significantly lower percentages are Below Basic.

View the grade 4 percentages of students by race/ethnicity at or above each achievement level.

Similarly, eighth-grade Black and Hispanic students are more likely to perform at Proficient in 2009 than in 1990.

View the grade 8 percentages of students by race/ethnicity at or above each achievement level.

The White-Black and White-Hispanic gaps for fourth-graders performing at Proficient have not been reduced between 2009 and 1990.

Compare these results to the changes over time for scale scores of student by race/ethnicity for grade 4.

As in grade 4, the percentage difference between White and Black and between White and Hispanic eighth-graders at Proficient has not been reduced in 2009.

Compare these results to the changes over time for scale scores of student by race/ethnicity for grade 8.

In 2009, the percentage of fourth-graders from lower-income families who performed at Proficient has increased since 1996.

See the grade 4 percentages of students by eligibility for the National School Lunch Program at or above each achievement level.

Likewise, a higher percentage of eighth-graders from lower-income families performed at Proficient in 2009 than in 1996.

See the grade 8 percentages of students by eligibility for the National School Lunch Program at or above each achievement level.

For more information, navigate through the state and national results listed in the left margin of this page.

# Rounds to zero.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Accommodations were not permitted in the mathematics assessments in 1990 and 1992. Black includes African American, Hispanic includes Latino, Pacific Islander includes Native Hawaiian, and American Indian includes Alaska Native. Race categories exclude Hispanic origin.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1990 - 2009 Mathematics Assessments.

Explore the Mathematics 2009 Trial Urban District Report Card

Explore the Mathematics 2009 Trial Urban District Report Card

Explore the Mathematics 2009 Report Card

Explore the Mathematics 2009 Report Card

View State and District Snapshot

NCES provides a customized summary report for each state, jurisdiction, or urban district that participates in the NAEP assessments.

Select a state/jurisdiction and grade to view a State Snapshot report.

Select an urban district and grade to view a District Snapshot report.

See 2009 Mathematics Framework

The mathematics framework serves as the blueprint for the assessment, describing the specific mathematical skills that should be assessed.

For more information, download the Mathematics Framework for the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress.