1 These data are from the School Pulse Panel (https://ies.ed.gov/schoolsurvey/spp/), a study sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to collect data on issues concerning the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students and staff in U.S. public primary, middle, high, and combined-grade schools. The Census Bureau conducts the School Pulse Panel on behalf of NCES.

2 This report focuses on mathematics data because new NAEP science data were not available at the time of publication. NAEP science data were last collected in 2019 and reported on in an NSF InfoByte released in May 2022 (Rotermund and Burke 2022). The next NAEP science data collection is scheduled for winter 2024 and will be administered to students in grade 8.

3 NAEP administered two mathematics assessments in 2022: the main NAEP and the NAEP long-term trend (LTT) assessment. Between January and March 2022, the main NAEP mathematics assessment was administered to representative samples of fourth- and eighth-grade students in the nation. Originally scheduled to be administered in spring 2021, the administration was delayed to 2022. The main NAEP is typically administered every 2 years, and mathematics results are available dating back to the first administration in 1990. The NAEP LTT assessment is designed to track long-term trends in student performance; it is administered every 4 years (rather than every 2 years) and is administered to students by age rather than grade level. The LTT has remained relatively unchanged since first administered in 1978, whereas the main NAEP assessment changes every decade or so to reflect curricular and framework changes. Last administered in 2020, the next LTT assessment was scheduled for 2024, but the National Center for Education Statistics added an assessment in 2022 to measure the impact of COVID-19 on student performance. Results from both NAEP assessments are reported as average scores on a 0–500 scale. Discussion of 12th-grade scores has not been included because no new data are available for 2022. Data through 2019 for 12th-grade students are available in Table SK12-2.

4 The National School Lunch Program is a federally assisted meal program operated in public and private nonprofit schools and residential childcare centers. To be eligible for free lunch, a student must be from a household with an income at or below 130% of the federal poverty guideline; to be eligible for reduced-price lunch, a student must be from a household with an income between 130% and 185% of the federal poverty guideline. Student eligibility for this program is a commonly used indicator of family socioeconomic status.

5 The NAEP uses percentiles to indicate how students perform at different levels of the score distribution. A percentile is defined by the percentage of students scoring lower than a particular scale score. For example, if the 25th percentile score is 281, it means that 25% of the students scored below 281 and that 75% scored higher. NAEP reports scores at five selected percentiles to show the progress made by lower-performing (10th and 25th percentiles), middle-performing (50th percentile), and higher-performing (75th and 90th percentiles) students. Percentile changes over time help indicate trends in how students perform at higher and lower levels.

6 As provided by law, the Commissioner for Education Statistics has determined that the NAEP achievement levels are to be used on a trial basis and should be interpreted and used with caution. However, the Commissioner and the National Assessment Governing Board believe these performance standards are useful for understanding trends in student achievement. For information on NAEP achievement levels, see https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/guides/scores_achv.aspx. For information about NAEP sampling procedures, see https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/tdw/sample_design/.

7 In 2001, after discussion among the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the National Assessment Governing Board (Governing Board), and the Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS), Congress appropriated funds for a district-level NAEP assessment on a trial basis. A primary goal of the Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) is to focus attention on urban K–12 education and academic achievement in urban districts. In collaboration with NCES and CGCS, the Governing Board invites districts that meet certain selection criteria to volunteer to participate in TUDA. Selection criteria are based on district size, percentages of African American or Hispanic students, and percentages of students eligible for the free or reduced-price lunch program. TUDA began in 2002 with six urban districts participating in the NAEP reading and writing assessments. In 2009, 18 districts participated in mathematics, reading, and science. Twenty-one districts participated in 2011, 2013, and 2015; 27 districts participated in 2017 and 2019; and 26 districts participated in 2022.

8 TIMSS is sponsored by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), an international nonprofit organization consisting of research institutions and government research agencies from member countries and economies. The IEA members include countries—defined as complete, independent political entities—and nonnational entities (e.g., Hong Kong). The term “education system” is used here to encompass both types of TIMSS participants; this should be kept in mind when comparing U.S. students’ performance with that of their cross-national peers. In addition, the United States may be larger or more diverse than other participating education systems (e.g., Singapore, Japan), which may affect its rankings.

9 IMF classifies Russia as a developing economy, but it is included in the analysis of the tables and figures because it is a large economy with high levels of student achievement. For the purposes of this report, Russia is included in this interpretation of the data, including the rankings of the countries.

10 In 2022, over 1.3 million high school students took the ACT, a decrease from the more than 1.8 million graduates—52% of the U.S. high school graduating class—who took the ACT in 2019. Many colleges and universities waived the ACT and SAT during COVID-19, and many institutions have now made that waiver permanent. The ACT tests students in mathematics, science, and STEM, among other subjects. In addition to reporting average scores, ACT reports the percentage of students meeting benchmarks representing the minimum score needed for college readiness in that subject. Specifically, a benchmark is the minimum score needed to reach a 50% chance of obtaining a grade of B or higher or a 75% chance of obtaining a grade of C or higher in corresponding college courses. The STEM benchmark represents students’ combined performance on the ACT mathematics and science tests.

11 Additional information about the percentage of students meeting college readiness benchmarks in STEM is available at https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/2022/2022-National-ACT-Profile-Report.pdf.

12 The immediate college enrollment rate includes 16- to 24-year-old students who graduated from high school or completed a GED or other high school equivalency credential in each survey year. Immediate college enrollment rates are defined as rates of high school completers enrolled in college in October after completing high school earlier in the same calendar year.

13 HSTS gathers and codes transcripts from a nationally representative sample of high school graduates who also took the NAEP mathematics and science assessments. The 2019 collection is the eighth wave of the study, which was last conducted in 2009 and first conducted in 1987. Data from 1990, 2000, 2009, and 2019—representing approximately decade-long spans—are presented here. HSTS defines STEM coursetaking as credit in advanced science (courses beyond basic biology), advanced mathematics (at algebra II or above), or STEM-related technical fields of engineering and science technology, health science and technology, and computer science.