The Nation's Report Card: Mathematics 2007

Student groups make gains, few gaps narrow

As indicated in the chart on the following page, improvements for minority students did not always result in narrower achievement gaps with White students. White, Black, and Hispanic students at both grades showed a better understanding of mathematics in 2007 when compared to all previous assessment years. However, when compared to the first assessment year in 1990, only the White – Black score gap at grade 4 narrowed in 2007. The White – Black score gap at grade 8 narrowed between 2005 and 2007.

The mathematics score for Asian/Pacific Islander students was higher in 2007 than in previous assessment years for grade 4, but at grade 8 showed no significant change from 2005 to 2007.

Student groups	Grade 4		Grade 8
	Since 1990	Since 2005	Since 1990	Since 2005
Overall
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian/Pacific Islander
American Indian/ Alaska Native
White – Black gap
White – Hispanic gap

	Indicates the score was higher or the gap increased in 2007.
	Indicates the score was lower or the gap decreased in 2007.
	Indicates there was no significant change in the score or the gap in 2007.
	Reporting standards not met. Sample size was insufficient to permit a reliable estimate.

At both grades 4 and 8, scores rose for students regardless of their eligibility for the free and reduced-price school lunch program, a measure of socioeconomic status. Average scores were higher in 2007 than in 2005 for students who were eligible as well as for students who were not eligible.

Fifteen states and jurisdictions make gains in mathematics at both grades Compared with 2005,     14 states (Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Virginia ) and the District of Columbia improved at both grades   8 states (Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Montana, New York, West Virginia, and Wisconsin ) improved at grade 4 only,   11 states (Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming ) improved at grade 8 only,   17 states and the Department of Defense schools showed no significant change at either grade.   No states showed score decreases. Differing patterns emerged when results were examined by different mathematics content areas. For example, 9 of the 29 states and jurisdictions that showed no change in overall performance at grade 4 did show a gain in at least one of the five content areas. 1Department of Defense Education Activitiy (overseas and domestic schools).

Download sections of the report (or the complete report) in a PDF file for viewing and printing:

• PDF 1 of 3 contains:
  Table of Contents
  Executive Summary
  Introduction
  -also includes front matter
  (333K PDF)
• PDF 2 of 3 contains:
  4th Grade Results
  (500K PDF)
• PDF 3 of 3 contains:
  8th Grade Results
  Technical Notes
  Appendix Tables
  (754K PDF)
• The complete The Nation’s Report Card: Mathematics 2007 PDF (1409K PDF)

NCES 2007-494 Ordering information

Suggested Citation
Lee, J., Grigg, W., and Dion, G. (2007). The Nation’s Report Card: Mathematics 2007 (NCES 2007-494). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C.

For more information, see the results of the 2007 Mathematics assessment on the Nation's Report Card website.