Children also are more likely to live in poverty, infants are more likely to be of low birthweight, youth are more likely to commit or be a victim of a violent crime, and reading scores of older children have declined slightly.

These findings are described in America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2005, the U.S. government's 9th annual monitoring report on the well-being of the Nation's children and youth. The report was compiled by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics and presents a comprehensive look at critical areas of child well-being, including health status, behavior and social environment, economic security, and education.

Health

In 2003, 89 percent of children had health insurance coverage at some point during the year. The report noted that the number of children who had no health insurance coverage at any time during 2003 was estimated to be 8.4 million (11 percent of all children), which was unchanged from 2002.

Education

The average mathematics score increased for fourth graders, from 226 in 2000 to 235 in 2003, on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the Nation's Report Card on elementary and secondary school performance. Similarly, the average mathematics score for eighth graders rose from 273 to 278 over the same period. In 2003, the percentages of fourth and eighth graders scoring at or above the Proficient achievement level in math were higher than in all previous assessments. Twelfth-graders were not tested in reading or mathematics in 2003, but twelfth grade mathematics scores had not changed significantly from 1996 to 2000.

The average reading score for fourth graders did not change from 1992 to 2003. Eighth graders' reading score changed only from 264 in 2002 to 263 in 2003; the 2003 score was higher than in 1992. The reading score of twelfth graders was lower in 2002 than in 1992 or 1998.

Girls had higher reading scores than did boys in grades 4 and 8 in 2003 and in grade 12 in 2002. However, boys had higher math scores than did girls in grades 4 and 8 in 2003, and in grade 12 in 2000.

In 2003, 87 percent of young adults ages 18-24 had completed high school with a diploma or an alternative credential, such as a General Education Development certificate. The high school completion rate has increased slightly since 1980, when it was 84 percent.

The proportion of Black-alone, non-Hispanic youth (ages 16 to 19) who were neither in school nor working was 10 percent in 2004, down from 12 percent in 2003. More Black-alone, non-Hispanic youth moved from the category "not enrolled in school and not working" into the category of "enrolled in school and not working" in 2004. The report categorizes people who responded to a question on race by indicating only one race as a "race-alone" population. For example, those who indicated their race as only "Black" and no other race are referred to as "Black-alone."

Population and Family Characteristics

The number of children under age 18 living in America increased, from 72.8 million in 2002 to 73.0 million in 2003. Children have decreased as a proportion of the population, from a peak of 36 percent in 1964, to 25 percent in 2003. The report noted that the racial and ethnic diversity of the nation's children has increased over time. In 2003, 60 percent of American children were White-alone, non-Hispanic, 16 percent were Black-alone, and 4 percent were Asian-alone. From 2002 to 2003, the percentage of children who were Hispanic increased from 18 percent to 19 percent. The percentage of children who are Hispanic has increased faster than that of any other racial and ethnic group, from 9 percent of the child population in 1980, to 19 percent in 2003.

In 2004, 20.3 percent of American children lived with at least one foreign-born parent, up from 19.6 percent in 2002. The report stated that the foreign-born population has grown since 1970, and that this increase has largely been from Latin America and Asia. The proportion of births to unmarried women also increased, from 34 percent in 2002 to 35 percent in 2003. The sharpest increase in the proportion of births to unmarried women occurred between 1980, when 18 percent of all births were to unmarried women, and 1994, when births to unmarried women reached 33 percent.

Accompanying backgrounders describe an additional special feature, on parental reports of emotional and behavioral difficulties, and a special section on family structure and children's well-being.

As in previous years, not all statistics are collected on an annual basis and, for this reason, some data in the report may be unchanged from last year's brief.

The 2005 America's Children report appears in its full-length version. The Forum publishes a condensed version of the report in alternate years.

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