High school graduates’ academic performance and coursetaking patterns

 

A new NCES report, the 2019 NAEP High School Transcript Study (HSTS) Results, describes the coursetaking patterns and academic performance of graduates from a national sample of U.S. public and private schools who also took the 2019 NAEP twelfth-grade mathematics and science assessments.  This report uses data from the 1990, 2000, 2009, and 2019 NAEP HSTS for coursetaking results and from 2005, 2009, and 2019 for comparisons to NAEP, located at https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/ndecore/landing.   The study of high school graduates’ academic performance and coursetaking patterns is based on an analysis of their transcripts and NAEP twelfth-grade mathematics and science assessment results.  HSTS show trends from 1990, 2000, 2009, and 2019 in grade point averages, course credits earned, curriculum levels, and various coursetaking patterns.  The 2019 HSTS uses a new course classification system, the School Courses for the Exchange of Data (SCED), to provide a more detailed breakdown of cross-disciplinary coursetaking programs such as Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) coursetaking.     The study also compares graduates’ average NAEP scale scores from the twelfth-grade mathematics and science assessments to the academic achievement reported in their transcripts.  The linkage of the NAEP twelfth-grade mathematics and science assessments to HSTS provides the opportunity for school leaders, policy makers, and researchers to analyze student performance by a rich set of HSTS and NAEP contextual factors. Overview Coursetaking measures derived from high school graduates’ transcripts have increased in 2019 compared to 2009 and previous HSTS years. High school graduates are earning more credits, especially in academic subjects; grade point averages are climbing; and graduates are attaining higher curriculum levels (which are measures of the rigor of student coursework). Furthermore, high school graduates are taking more science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses. However, the performance of high school graduates on the NAEP Grade 12 mathematics and science assessments paints a different picture. The average NAEP mathematics assessment scores of high school graduates in 2019 has decreased compared to 2009, while their NAEP science assessment scores were similar compared to 2009. While the majority of high school graduates in 2019 attained a midlevel curriculum, the average NAEP mathematics and science assessment scores of those graduates who attained a midlevel curriculum were within the NAEP Basicachievement levels. Core indicators of student coursetaking are increasing. The number of Carnegie credits earned by high school graduates increased to 28.1 credits in 2019, compared to 27.2 credits in 2009. The largest component of this increase came from academic courses, of which graduates earned 20.8 credits in 2019 compared to 20.2 credits in 2009. The overall grade point average (GPA) earned by high school graduates increased to 3.11 in 2019, compared to 3.00 in 2009. The percentage of high school graduates who attained a standard curriculum or higher increased across the assessment years. The percentage of high school graduates who did not attain a standard curriculum decreased to 16 percent in 2019, compared to 23 percent in 2009. More high school graduates are completing STEM courses in 2019 than in 2009. The percentage of high school graduates earning credits in STEM courses increased within all three subject areas–STEM advanced mathematics, STEM advanced science and engineering, and STEM-related technical courses. Compared to 2009, the percentages of high school graduates earning STEM credits in 2019 increased from 3 percentage points (STEM-related technical) to 7 percentage points (STEM advanced mathematics). Compared to 2009, the overall percentage of high school graduates taking career/technical education (CTE) courses remained at 85 percent. However, the percentage increased in some CTE subjects, such as engineering and technology and health care sciences. Gains in high school graduates’ coursetaking are not reflected in their NAEP Grade 12 mathematics and science assessment scores. When comparing 2019 to 2009, the average NAEP Grade 12 mathematics assessment score decreased at the higher curriculum levels. The average NAEP mathematics score earned by high school graduates attaining a rigorous curriculum in 2019 was 184, a four-point decrease compared to 2009. For graduates attaining a midlevel curriculum, the average NAEP mathematics score was 153 in 2019, a five-point decrease compared to 2009. The average NAEP Grade 12 science assessment scores did not significantly change at any curriculum level in 2019 compared to 2009.