Mathematical Achievement in Eighth Grade: Interstate and Racial Differences

The 1992 eighth grade mathematics test of the National Assessment of Educational Progress reveals a low average level of achievement, wide variation across states, and a large difference in average scores of white and black students. Multiple regression analysis across states indicates that the characteristics of children (such as readiness to learn in kindergarten) and of the households in which they live (such as mother's education) have much larger effects of NAEP test scores than do variables (such as the student/teacher ratio) that measure school characteristics. White-black differences in the levels of child and household variables account for much of the white- black difference in NAEP test scores.