H
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
Roger White is managing editor of
Texas Lone Star. P
ub
li
c
Ed!
C
opy
r
ig
h
t
201
5
TA
S
B
by
Wh
i
te
&Se
ver
n
s
Now , that’s a turkey!!!
TAKE PLACES, EVERYONE! It’s show time!!!
* I told Principal Johnson I’d do anything to help out, but...*
* You look great, Ed! Break a leg! *