Students’ views of mathematics, reading, and science at grades 4, 8, and 12 using survey data from the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress

As part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), students, teachers, and school administrators answer survey questionnaires. These questionnaires collect contextual information to provide a better understanding of educational experiences and factors that are related to students’ learning both in and outside of the classroom and to allow for meaningful student group comparisons.

For the 2015 NAEP mathematics, reading, and science assessments, nationally representative samples of students at grades 4, 8, and 12 answered survey questions about their views (i.e., levels of interest and enjoyment) of subject-related topics and activities.

It's probably no surprise that students who enjoy what they're learning tend to perform better academically than those who do not, and those who perform better tend to enjoy what they're learning.^{1, 2, 3} In fact, positive views of learning can play a valuable role in a student's motivation and academic growth.^{4, 5} Students' views can vary by gender, learning opportunity engagement (e.g., participation in activities in or outside of the classroom), and other factors.^{1, 6} These issues, and others, are examined in this report within the context of the 2015 NAEP mathematics, reading, and science assessments.

This report, the first in a series, takes an in-depth look at their responses, providing additional information with the 2015 NAEP achievement results.