For all three age groups, average mathematics proficiency scores for students below the 50th percentile increased significantly more than for students above the 50th percentile between 1978 and 1990. For example, at age 17, the average for students in the 5th percentile increased by 12 points while the average score for students in the 95th percentile remained constant between 1978 and 1990. (See figure 1-2.) See also appendix tables 1-3, 1-4, and 1-5. The differences for 13-year-old students are more dramatic. The average score for students in the 5th percentile increased by 20 points while the scores for the 95th percentile decreased by 7 points between 1978 and 1990. The differences for the youngest students are not as large. These trends indicate that the differences between the top and bottom students are narrowing somewhat (the difference remains at 102 points for 13- and 17-year-olds) and that any increases in the average mathematics proficiency scores for 13- and 17-year-old students are occurring among students who fall below the 50th percentile. The gains made by these students may be attributable to the past focus on teaching basic skills.

The distributions in science proficiency scores for age 9 and age 13 students are similar to those in mathematics, but the trends for 17-year-olds break the pattern. At age 9 and 13, the average score for students in the 5th percentile increased 16 and 17 points, respectively. Scores at the 95th percentile experienced little, if any, change between 1977 and 1990. The average scores for high school students (age 17) moved at the same rate across the distribution; the average score at each percentile decreased until 1982, then slowly reached the initial 1977 level by 1990. (See figure 1-3.) See also appendix tables 1-6, 1-7, and 1-8.

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