Texas Lone Star - NOVEMBER 2015

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Encouraging Numbers

SAT, AP Exam Participation Rises Sharply in Texas

by Roger White
Editor’s Footnote

Here’s some great news from the Texas Education Agency: The number of Texas public school students taking the SAT and Advanced Placement (AP) exams jumped from the 2013-14 school year to the

2014-15 year. Participation in the SAT exam climbed by more than 9 percent, while AP participation rose by a whopping 13. 3 percent.

The 179,131 Texas public school students who took the SAT in 2014-15 reflect an increase of 9. 2 percent from

2013-14. For the third consecutive year, more Hispanic students (73,635) than white students (59,921) took the SAT in Texas public schools.

In addition, the 255,250 Texas public school students who took AP exams in 2014-

15 represent an increase of

13. 3 percent from 2013-14, according to the latest numbers released in September by the College Board. That percentage increase is more than double the national growth of 6 percent.

“The demographics of stu-
dents electing to take SAT and
AP exams mirror the demo-
graphics we now see in Texas
classrooms, and that is good,”
said Commissioner of Educa-
tion Michael Williams. “The
economic future of our state
rests on students with aspira-
tions beyond high school to
strengthen and build the Texas
of tomorrow.”

More Notes from the
College Board

In 2014-15, Texas students took a total of 479,476

AP exams, an increase of 16. 9 percent over the previous school year. That figure is also more than double the 7. 2 percent increase nationally. Performance (students with scores of 3 or higher out of a possible score of 0-5) increased for all groups, with African American students increasing by 12. 4 percent and Hispanic students increasing by 10. 3 percent.

While student participation
numbers continue to increase,
Additional Texas items of
note from the 2014-15 College
Board report include the
following:
• SAT takers represent

62.3 percent of the state’s public high school Class of 2015 graduates.

• More than 25,500 of the public school students taking the SAT were African American, which represents an all-time high for the state.

• More than half (53.7 percent) of the public school students who took the SAT were female (96,239).

• The most popular AP exams were English Language, US History, World History, English Literature, and Physics 1.

• Approximately 212,940 AP exams in Texas earned a score of 3 or higher, an increase of 9.5 percent over 2013-14 and higher than the increase of 4. 9 nationally.H