National Trends in Mathematics

By National Asessment of Education Progress

From http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/mathematics/trendsnational.asp

The National Assessment of Educational progress has been tracking U.S. student achievement in mathematics since 1973. This index, which concentrates on basic skills and computation, has shown increases since the mid-1980s.

• 17-year-olds. After declining between 1973 and 1982, average scores increased during the 1980s, and more modestly in the 1990s. The average score in 1999 was higher than that in 1973.
• 13-year-olds. An increase in scores between 1978 and 1982, followed by additional increases in the 1990s, resulted in an average score in 1999 that was higher than that in 1973.
• 9-year-olds. After a period of stable performance in the 1970s, average scores increased in the 1980s. Additional modest gains were evident in the 1990s, and the 1999 average score was higher than that in 1973.

Go to summary report--including charts.