This chapter presents the progress the state is making on the Academic Excellence Indicators established in law and/or adopted by the commissioner of education or the State Board of Education. Analysis of TAAS results and dropout rates can be found in greater detail in Chapters 1 and 2 (see technical note). Other indicators in the AEIS performance report include the cumulative percent of students passing the exit-level TAAS, exemptions from the TAAS, percentage of students taking end-of-course tests, attendance rates, completion of advanced courses, completion of the recommended high school program, results of Advanced Placement (AP) examinations, equivalency between performance on exit-level TAAS and the Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP) test and results from college admission tests such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test and the American College Testing program.

Cumulative percent passing exit- level TAAS

(new measure in 1995-96)

TAAS % Passing, All Tests - Exit - Cumulative		State	African American	Hispanic	White	Native American	Asian/ Pac.Is.	Male	Female	Econ. Disadv.	Special Educ.
Class of 1996		84.7%	76.0%	76.2%	91.7%	80.9%	88.2%	84.4%	85.1%	n/a	n/a
Class of 1995		82.8%	73.7%	74.5%	91.6%	76.4%	87.3%	82.2%	83.4%	n/a	n/a

Students have multiple opportunities to pass the exit-level TAAS, which is a requirement for graduation in Texas. This measure reports on the percent of students passing all tests taken on the exit-level TAAS for the class of 1995 cohort (i.e., those students who started testing in spring 1993 and finished testing in the same district in May 1995) and the class of 1996 cohort (i.e., those students who started testing in spring 1994 and finished testing in the same district by May 1996).

Statewide, 84.7 percent of the class of 1996 and 82.8 percent of the class of 1995 passed the exit-level TAAS. Percents were higher for all student groups in the class of 1996 compared to the class of 1995. In both years, the percent of females meeting this graduation requirement was slightly higher (85.1 percent in 1996) than the percent of males (84.4 percent in 1996). The highest percents were found among White (91.7 percent) and Asian/Pacific Islander students (88.2 percent) and the lowest among African-American (76.0 percent) and Hispanic (76.2 percent). Note that these percentages are somewhat lower than might be expected because they include as test failers students who may have dropped out (even if they received a GED), or moved out of state before passing all the tests on the TAAS.

Exemptions from TAAS

A student may be exempted from the TAAS test if he or she (1) has received a special education exemption, as determined by an admission, review and dismissal committee and specified in the student's individual education plan; or (2) has received a limited English proficiency exemption, as determined by a language proficiency assessment committee and documented in the student's permanent record file. The limited English proficiency exemption is not an option for exit-level students. In 1996 the Spanish TAAS was available for Spanish-speaking students in grades 3 and 4 who otherwise might have been exempted due to limited English proficiency.

Between 3.8 percent and 4.0 percent of students (depending on the subject) received exemptions from taking the TAAS in spring 1996 because of limited English proficiency, and between 5.9 percent and 6.3 percent received special education exemptions. Approximately ten percent of Hispanic students received exemptions due to limited English proficiency, the highest percentage of this type of exemption among all student groups. Special education exemptions were highest among African Americans, with rates ranging around ten percent.

While there was little variance between males and females in the rate of exemptions for limited English proficiency, male students were almost twice as likely to receive special education exemptions as female students. The special education exemption rate for males ranged from 7.6 percent in mathematics to 8.4 percent in writing and the rate for females ranged from 4.1 percent in mathematics to 4.3 percent in reading.

Percentage Taking End-of- Course Exams

Students completing a Biology I or Algebra I course must take an end-of-course examination. The AEIS shows the percent of students who took the test in either December or May of the 1995-96 school year (summer school test takers are not included). For Biology I, the percent of students who took the test in grades 8-12 is reported. For Algebra I, the percent of students who took the test in grades 7-12 is reported.

Statewide, 19.9 percent of students in grades 8-12 took the Biology I test, and 17.8 percent of students in grades 7-12 took the Algebra I test. For Biology I, the percent taking varied from 26.5 percent for Native American students to 18.8 percent for African American students. For Algebra I, the range was from 19.1 percent for Native American students to 17.0 percent for African American students.

The AEIS will report the percentage of students taking end-of-course examinations in English II and United States History when the tests are fully implemented.

Student Attendance

The commissioner of education has established a student attendance standard of 94 percent for all Texas public schools. The statewide attendance rate remained constant at 95.1 percent for the 1993-94 and 1994-95 school years. Rates for all student groups were above the 94 percent standard for both years.The commissioner of education has established a student attendance standard of 94 percent for all Texas public schools. The statewide attendance rate remained constant at 95.1 percent for the 1993-94 and 1994-95 school years. Rates for all student groups were above the 94 percent standard for both years.

Percentage Completing Advanced Courses

This indicator is based on completion of (and having received credit for) at least one advanced course in grades 9-12. The course list includes all advanced courses as well as Advanced Placement (AP) courses.

In 1994-95, the most recent year for which data are available, 15.1 percent of students in grades 9-12 completed at least one advanced course. This rate is almost two percentage points above the previous school year. All student groups demonstrated improved performance on this indicator.

Percentage Completing Recommended High School Program

(new measure in 1995-96)

% Rec. HS Pgm.		State	African American	Hispanic	White	Native American	Asian/ Pac.Is.	Male	Female	Econ. Disadv.	Special Educ.
	Class of 1995	0.3%	0.4%	0.1%	0.4%	0.0%	0.0%	0.3%	0.3%	0.2%	0.2%

This indicator reports the percentage of graduates who satisfied the course requirements for the State Board of Education Recommended High School Program. It also includes those who met the requirements for the Distinguished Achievement Program.

For the class of 1995, the first year for which data are available, 0.3 percent of students statewide met the requirements for the Recommended High School Program. It is not surprising that this percent is so low. The Recommended High School Program, which was originally adopted by the State Board of Education in November 1993, underwent a number of changes before being finalized in 1996. It is still too soon for significant numbers of students to have qualified for the program. Most districts are still reporting their advanced students as having completed the "Advanced High School Program," which will be phased out by the end of the 1998-99 school year.

Advanced Placement (AP) Tests

(new measure in 1995-96)

AP Results		State	African American	Hispanic	White	Native American	Asian/ Pac.Is.	Male	Female	Econ. Disadv.	Special Educ.
% Taking	1995-96	7.6%	2.6%	4.4%	9.7%	7.8%	23.3%	6.9%	8.3%	n/a	n/a
	1994-95	6.8%	1.9%	3.8%	8.7%	9.0%	22.0%	6.1%	7.5%	n/a	n/a
% Scores >= 3	1995-96	60.6%	31.3%	46.6%	63.4%	62.9%	70.7%	62.1%	59.4%	n/a	n/a
	1994-95	60.0%	35.8%	48.4%	61.5%	62.2%	70.4%	62.5%	57.9%	n/a	n/a
% Examinees >= 3	1995-96	62.6%	32.2%	51.9%	65.4%	70.3%	74.8%	63.8%	61.6%	n/a	n/a
	1994-95	62.4%	36.1%	55.3%	63.6%	66.2%	74.4%	64.9%	60.5%	n/a	n/a

This indicator reports the results of the College Board Advanced Placement (AP) examinations taken by Texas public school students in a given school year. High school students may take these examinations, ideally upon completion of AP courses, and may receive advanced placement or credit, or both, upon entering college. Generally, colleges will award credit or advanced placement for scores of 3, 4, or 5 on AP examinations.

• The percent of 11th or 12th graders taking at least one AP examination rose from 6.8 percent in 1994-95 to 7.6 percent in 1995-96. All student groups showed an increase in this measure over the two years reported.
• The percent of scores 3, 4, or 5 rose statewide from 60 percent to 60.6 percent. Results for student groups were mixed for the two years reported. The percent for African American students declined from 35.8 percent to 31.3 percent and for Hispanic students from 48.4 percent to 46.6 percent. The percent for White students increased 1.9 percent while Native American and Asian/Pacific Islander students increased by 0.7 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.
• A similar pattern was seen for the percent of examinees with at least one AP score of 3, 4, or 5. Statewide the percent increased slightly from 62.4 percent to 62.6 percent, reflecting the combination of decreases in the percents for African American and Hispanic students between 1994-95 and 1995-96 and increased percents for the other student groups.
  

TAAS/TASP Equivalency

The Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP) is a basic skills test of reading, writing and mathematics. It is required of all persons entering Texas public institutions of higher education for the first time. This indicator shows the percent of graduates who did well enough on the exit-level TAAS to have a 75 percent likelihood of passing the Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP) test. The method for calculating this indicator changed on the 1995-96 AEIS reports due to changes in the TASP assessment program and the movement (in the 1992-93 school year) of the exit-level TAAS administration to the spring semester of the sophomore year from the fall semester of the junior year. For this reason, only the results for the class of 1995 are reported on the most recent report.

Equivalency rates for the class of 1995 showed that 39.9 percent of graduates statewide scored sufficiently high on the TAAS (when they first took the test) to have a 75 percent likelihood of passing the TASP. The percents varied by student group from a high of 52.4 percent for Asian/Pacific Islander students to a low of 19.2 percent for African American students.

College Admission Tests

Results from the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the Enhanced ACT of the American College Testing Program suggest Texas public school graduates are improving their performance on indicators related to college admissions tests.

• The percentage of graduates who scored at or above the criterion score on either test (1,000 on the SAT or 24 on the ACT) rose from 17.4 percent for the class of 1994 to 18.0 percent for the class of 1995.
• The percentage of graduates who took either the SAT or the ACT remained stable at 64.8 percent for the class of 1994 and the class of 1995.
• The average SAT score for the class of 1995 was 891, compared to 885 for the class of 1994.
• The average ACT composite score for the class of 1995 declined slightly to 20.0 from 20.1 for the class of 1994.

---

AEIS State Performance Report

---

Agency Contact Person

Cherry Kugle, Senior Director of Performance Reporting, (512) 463-9704.

Other Sources of Information

AEIS Performance Reports and Profiles for each public school district and campus, available from each district or the agency's Division of Communications, (512) 463-9000.

Pocket Edition, 1995-96: Texas Public School Statistics, published by the Division of Performance Reporting.

Snapshot '96: School District Profiles, published by the Division of Performance Reporting, available in early 1997.

Cover	Student Performance	Academic Excellence Indicator System	Status of the Curriculum	Deregulation and Waivers	District Reporting Requirements
Executive Summary	Student Dropouts	Grade Level Retention	District and Campus Performance	Administrative Cost Ratios	TEA Funds and Expenditures