April 6, 2000
TO THE EDUCATOR ADDRESSED:
SUBJECT: New Report From the Division of Research and
Evaluation.
The Texas Education Agency Division of Research and Evaluation is pleased to announce the publication of a new
report, titled 1996-97 Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Examination Results in Texas (Publication No. GE00-601-03). The report is available in .PDF format on the Web at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/research/
or may be purchased by contacting the TEA Publications Distribution Office at (512) 463-9744.
The report investigates the participation and performance of 11th and 12th grade Texas public school district
students in the College Board's Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate Organisation's (IBO) courses and examinations during the 1996-97 school year. Both the number of
Texas AP and IB examinees were higher than in previous years, as well as the number of schools with AP examinees. Participation rates for Hispanics and African Americans continued to climb
but still lagged behind those for Whites and Asian Americans, while the rate for females continued rising faster than that for males.
Performance as measured by number of AP examinations in the 3-5 score range and number of IB examinations in
the 4-7 range was highest in 1997, improving steadily since 1995. Asian American, Native American, and White students continued to outscore African Americans and Hispanics on AP and IB
examinations.
The dramatic increase in state funding for the Texas AP/IB Incentive Program in the 2000-2001 biennium, as well as funding available through federal and local incentive programs, should provide many necessary supports for substantially increasing the number of Texas high school students taking AP and IB courses and examinations.
Additional information about this report may be obtained by contacting the TEA Division of Research and
Evaluation at (512) 475-3523.
For further information on this topic, contact the Division of Research and Evaluation at (512) 475-3523.