TO THE EDUCATOR ADDRESSED:
SUBJECT: New Reports From the Division of Research and Evaluation
The Texas Education Agency Division of Research and Evaluation is pleased to announce the publication of two new reports: Results of College Admissions Testing in Texas for 1998-99 Graduating Seniors (Publication No. GE00-601-04) and 1999 and 1998 Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Examination Results in Texas (Publication No. GE00-601-05). The reports are 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.
Results of College Admissions Testing in Texas for 1998-99 Graduating Seniors investigates the participation and performance of Texas public school graduates on the College Board's SAT I: Reasoning Test and the ACT, Inc., ACT Assessment. The highest combined number of Texas public school graduates ever-113,807 or 61.8 percent-took either the SAT I or ACT before or during 1998-99. That is, a greater number of Texas graduates than ever before sought external feedback, via SAT I or ACT examination results, about their academic readiness for college. Performance as measured by the combined number of tested graduates achieving either SAT I Total scores of 1110-1600 or ACT Composite scores of 24-36-30,901-was highest in 1999. The percentage of SAT I- and ACT-tested graduates scoring within these higher ranges on either test was 27.2 percent in 1999-a 2.2 percentage point gain since 1991. African Americans, Hispanics, Whites, males, and females also showed similar trends in overall improvement since 1991. Most encouraging for all 1999 Texas graduates is that while the numbers tested increased since 1998, the state's mean performance held steady at 20.3 on the ACT Composite and was virtually the same at 993 for the SAT Total. The percentage of all Texas SAT takers completing 20 or more academic course credits continued to increase, as did the percentage of ACT takers completing an ACT-defined core set of academic courses. Thus, the most general suggestion for strengthening SAT I and ACT test performance overall, or students' academic readiness for college, is to focus on improving the academic preparation of all students while also encouraging testing participation.
1999 and 1998 Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Examination Results in Texas 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. Both the number of Texas AP and IB examinees was higher than in previous years, as well as the number of schools with AP examinees. Participation rates for African Americans and especially for Hispanics in the past two years 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 1999, improving steadily since 1995 for AP and since 1996 for IB. Performance as measured by the percentage of AP examinations in the 3-5 score range declined from 60.6 percent in 1996 to 55.0 percent in 1999, partly due to the rapid increase in the number of AP examinees. Asian American and White students continued to outscore African Americans and Hispanics on AP and IB examinations. Comparisons of AP results to other states and the nation were also drawn for all Texas public and non-public school students. The dramatic increase in state funding for the Texas AP/IB Incentive Program in the 2000-01 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 these reports may be obtained by contacting the TEA Division of Research and Evaluation at (512) 475-3523.
For further information on this topic, contact Research and Evaluation at (512) 475-3523.