The 2012 NAEP economics assessment measured twelfth-graders' understanding of how economies and markets work, the benefits and costs of economics interaction and interdependence, and the choices people make regarding limited resources. The 2012 administration is the second time that economics has been assessed; the subject was first assessed in 2006.

• There was no significant change in the overall average economics score of twelfth-grade students from 2006 to 2012.
   
  
• In 2012, male students scored 6 points higher on average than female students, which was not significantly different from the gender gap in 2006.
   
  
• White and Asian/Pacific Islander students scored higher than Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native students in both 2006 and 2012.
  
  

• Hispanic students scored higher in 2012 than in 2006, while there were no significant changes for other racial/ethnic groups.
  
  

Explore Score Gains of Hispanic Students

Explore the following slides to take a closer look at the gains in average economics scores made by twelfth-grade Hispanic students across a variety of contextual factors. For context, the percentages of students are given within each of the variables examined for all the racial/ethnic groups. Gains in average scores highlighted are the only statistically significant gains within each of the reporting categories presented.

 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2012 Economics Assessment.