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In general, SAT I and ACT average scores also increased as the values of selected educational variableswent up, including district average percentage of students passing all sections of the 1997-98 TexasAssessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) test, prior year district percentages meeting the SAT I and/orACT criterion score, student letter grade average, and number of academic courses completed.The most general suggestion to the educational community for improving students’ SAT I and ACT scores,or academic preparation for college, is to focus on improving the academic preparation of all students whilealso encouraging testing participation. That is, schools and communities should work on increasing educa tional inputs rather than faulting school or student demographics, which are less subject to the direct influ ence of schools.INTERPRETATIVE ISSUESFor individual students, college admissions tests are measures of developed academic abilities that are bestused in conjunction with other measures, such as high school grade point average and courses taken, topredict academic performance in college. When examined over time, aggregate changes in these test scoresmay indicate how well educational institutions are preparing students for college. However, it is alwaysinappropriate to make decisions about individuals, groups of individuals, or educational institutions based onSAT/SAT I or ACT test scores alone. In addition, institutions with smaller numbers of test takers (e.g., under50 or under 100 tested) tend to show greater mean score changes from one year to the next than those withhigher numbers of test takers (e.g., 50 or 100 tested) (ACT, Inc., Research Division, 1998; College En trance Examination Board [CEEB], 1998a). Because not all graduating seniors take the SAT I or ACT,comparisons among educational entities are best made when the percentage of students tested, student charac teristics, and education and policy contexts are similar (also see CEEB, 1988, and the ACT Program, 1998d).Ultimately, the critical outcome is increasing student academic preparedness as reflected by increased scoreswithout reducing students’ participation (percentages tested) in or access to the testing.SCORE SCALESVerbal and Mathematics scores from the SAT I range from 200 to 800 and sum to the SAT I Total scoreranging from 400 to 1600. All previous years’ SAT/SAT I and 1997-98 SAT I scores in this report arereported on the recentered scale. However, SAT/SAT I results prior to 1995-96 included in previous TEAreports (e.g., TEA, 1997d) are reported on the original scale. Recentering reset the average or midpoint of thescore distributions at approximately 500 on both SAT I Verbal and Mathematics scales. Thus, all currentand prior years’ SAT/SAT I scores in this report, because they have been placed on the recentered scale,cannot be directly compared to scores in reports of results prior to 1995-96, which are on the original scale.Equivalence tables are available from the College Board for converting both individual and average scoresfrom the original to recentered scale, and vice versa.Since October 1989, the ACT Assessment has consisted of English, Mathematics, Reading, and ScienceReasoning test scores with a standard score range of 1 to 36; the Composite is the average of these fourscores. Note that ACT scores beginning in 1989-90 and ACT scores reported before 1989-90 arenoncomparable. Equivalence tables are available from ACT for making score conversions from theoriginal to the Enhanced ACT scale, and vice versa.3

ACCESS TO TESTINGFees and fee waivers. Effective fall 1997 through summer 1998, basic test fees were 22.50 for the SAT I(CEEB and Educational Testing Service [ETS], 1997b) and 20.00 for the ACT, which included the costs oftest registration and sending score reports to various institutions. Effective in fall 1998, the SAT I basic testfee increased to 23.00 (CEEB, 1998), and the ACT fee rose to 21.00 (ACT, 1998e). Beginning in fall1999, the basic SAT I test fee will increase to 23.50 (CEEB, 1999), while the ACT fee will rise to 22.00(ACT, 1999a). For both the SAT I and the ACT, there is no additional charge for score reports sent to up tofour colleges and scholarship programs.Test fee waivers from the College Board and ACT for the SAT I and ACT are available to junior and seniorhigh school students based on economic need. Criteria for determining a student’s eligibility include: familyincome; whether the student’s family receives public assistance; whether the student lives in a foster home;and whether the student participates in a program for the economically disadvantaged, such as UpwardBound. For the SAT I, a student may receive a maximum of two fee waivers, which may be used in either thejunior or senior year. For the ACT, a student may receive only one fee waiver, which may be used in eitherthe junior or senior year, but only one indicator of economic need has to be met for a student to qualify.However, in many Texas schools and districts, availability of local funding and local criteria determine theextent to which testing fees for additional students and tests may be covered.Services for students with disabilities. Both the College Board and ACT, Inc., provide special services forstudents with disabilities (ACT, 1997c; CEEB and ETS, 1997d). To qualify, a student must have a disabilitythat necessitates testing accommodations, as supported by documentation on file at school (e.g., an individualeducation plan, a 504 Plan, or a professional evaluation). The student also must be currently receiving specialaccommodations for school-based tests; however, an exception may be allowed based on additional docu mentation provided by an appropriate school staff member or a qualified professional. Texas State Board ofEducation rules relating to testing accommodations for school-based tests are specified in 19 TAC §101.3(1996).Various accommodations are available depending on the nature of the disability—for example, a magnifyingdevice, typewriter or computer, Braille device, sign language for verbal instructions, and extra testing time.Depending on the type and extent needed, special testing accommodations are provided through the SATProgram at national test centers or students’ schools (or other ETS-approved sites) (CEEB and ETS, 1997c).Special testing accommodations for standard or extended time on ACT Assessments can be arranged atnational test centers for certain test dates throughout the year or at students’ schools (ACT, 1999b,c). Studentscore reports are marked as “Nonstandard Administration” for the SAT I or as “Special” for the ACT. Nei ther score report indicates the reason for special testing accommodations.SPECIFIC USES OF SCORE RESULTS IN TEXASResults from SAT/SAT I and ACT college admissions tests are used for a variety of specific purposes inTexas. Some of these uses are specified in Texas statute, while other uses are based on state-level rule orpolicy or the varying policies of the state’s colleges and universities.College admission requirements and required notifications. Historically, each institution of higher educa tion in Texas has established its own criteria for admissions, as is the case in many states. Consistent with therecommendations of the College Board (CEEB, 1988), most senior, or four-year, colleges and universitiesº4

have taken into consideration some combination of a student’s college admission test scores (SAT I and/orACT) and school achievement record (e.g., courses taken, grade point average, class rank, etc.) (CEEB andETS, 1997a). The score standards required for the SAT I and ACT vary significantly, based on the selectivityof the institution, but often are tied inversely to the student’s class rank in high school—that is, the higher theclass rank, the lower the test score required, and vice versa. Other institutions, however, including manyjunior and community colleges, maintain open admission policies under which any person with a high schooldiploma or its equivalent may be accepted.Beginning with fall 1998 first-time freshman admissions, Texas public higher education institutions wererequired to admit applicants who graduated (within one of the two preceding school years) with a grade pointaverage in the top 10 percent of their class (TEC §§51.801 - 51.809, 1998). After granting such generaladmission, Texas higher education institutions may determine whether or not admitted students need addi tional preparation for college-level work or need to participate in a retention program. The Texas legislationalso allows institutions to determine locally whether or not additional automatic admissions will be adopted–that is, students graduating with grade point averages in the top 25 percent of their classes. Otherwise, forother applicants, institutions shall consider all, any, or a combination of socioeconomic indicators and otherfactors (e.g., academic record, performance on standardized tests, etc.) specified in Texas statute in makingadmission decisions, except for those institutions with open enrollment policies. Texas Higher EducationCoordinating Board (THECB) rule (19 TAC §5.9, 1997) further specifies timelines and criteria for schoolsand districts to use in determining class rank and when and how higher education institutions may limitstatutory automatic admissions. Thus, despite Texas legislation, admission policies can still vary substantiallyamong Texas public and any other higher education institutions.Most recently, the 76th Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 510 (adding TEC §28.026), which mandates newnotification responsibilities for school districts to help ensure that all students are aware of the top 10 percentautomatic college admission provisions (TEC §51.803). For example, high schools in each district arerequired to display the specifications of TEC §51.803 in all principals’ and counselors’ offices and in eachadministration building. In addition, districts are responsible for providing detailed explanations of thisstatute to all high school counselors and class advisors. Counselors and advisors, in turn, are responsible forexplaining the statute’s substance to eligible students. Ultimately, the district must also provide (at the startof the class’s senior year) each eligible senior student with written notice of his or her eligibility along with awritten explanation of the statute’s substance.Exemption from other testing. In response to public concerns that a growing number of high school gradu ates lacked the academic skills needed to perform effectively in college, the Texas Legislature in 1987established a system of testing and remediation called the Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP) (TEC§51.306, 1988). Under the program, each student (with certain exceptions) who enters a public institution ofhigher education must take a diagnostic test of basic reading, writing, and mathematics skills. The TASP Testcannot be used as a condition of admission to the institution, but must be taken before the student completesnine semester credit hours of coursework. Effective in fall 1998, students must be tested before enrolling incollege-level courses, except under certain conditions (TEC §51.306, 1998). Colleges and universities arethen responsible for providing remediation to students who fail any part of the test.In 1993, the legislature created special exemptions from the TASP Test based on SAT, ACT, and exit-levelTexas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) scores (TEC §51.306, 1994). The 74th Legislature extendedthe TASP exemptions in 1995 by requiring the THECB to lower the target scores used to determine eligibilityfor the exemptions. Effective in fall 1997, to qualify for an exemption based on the ACT, a student mustreceive an ACT Composite score of 23 or higher, with ACT English and Mathematics scores of 19 or higher.5

For SAT I tests taken in April 1995 or after (recentered score scale), a student must receive an SAT I Total(Verbal Mathematics) score of 1070 or higher, with scores on Verbal and Mathematics sections of 500 orhigher. For SAT/SAT I tests taken before April 1995 (original score scale), the SAT/SAT I Total score mustbe 970 or higher, with a Verbal score of 420 or higher and a Mathematics score of 470 or higher. Includingthese exemptions, THECB guidelines for TASP exemptions based on the exit-level TAAS are also specifiedin 19 TAC §5.313 (1998).Campus- and district-level performance accountability reporting. In 1989, the Texas Legislature created theAcademic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) and directed the State Board of Education (SBOE) to adoptand report a set of campus- and district-level indicators of student performance that included, among others,performance on the SAT and ACT (TEC §21.7531, 1990). The SAT/ACT indicator adopted by the board inNovember 1990 encompasses three measures for reporting test results (SBOE, 1990). The first was thepercentage of graduates who scored at or above the criterion score on either test (24 on the ACT Compositeand previously an SAT I Total score of 1000 on the original scale). Effective with the 1997-98 AEIS report,a redefined measure beginning with the reporting of 1995-96 SAT I and ACT scores was approved by thecommissioner of education—that is, the percentage of examinees (rather than graduates) scoring at or abovethe criterion on either test (still an ACT Composite of 24, but a recentered SAT I Total change to 1110)(TEA, 1997c, 1999). The second measure is a participation rate, or the percentage of graduates who tookeither college admissions test. The third is the average score for each test (SAT I Total and ACT Composite).For purposes of year-to-year comparisons, this information is reported for the current (most recent year withavailable data) and previous year when comparable data are available.Since 1994, when the AEIS indicators were first grouped into different categories for accountability purposes,the SAT/ACT indicator has been reported as an “additional” indicator (TEA, 1994b, 1999). Unlike “base”indicators, additional indicators are not used to determine campus or district accountability ratings. Theyare, however, used to acknowledge high levels of campus or district performance. Any district ratedAcademically Acceptable or higher and any campus rated Acceptable or higher is eligible for acknowledg ment on additional indicators. Effective with 1996-97 accountability system acknowledgment ratings, onlyone level of acknowledgment, Acknowledged, along with new standards, began to be used (TEA, 1997c). ForAcknowledged campus or district performance, 70 percent or more of the graduates must take either the ACTor SAT/SAT I, and 50 percent or more of examinees must score at or above the criterion score for either test.Standards must be met for each student group (African American, Hispanic, and White) at a campus ordistrict, as well as for all students combined. Previously, campus and district performance was acknowledgedat two separate Exemplary and Recognized levels; details on standards for these previous two levels can befound in TEA accountability manuals published before 1997. Further detail on current college admissionsindicator definitions and acknowledgment standards can be found in TEA’s current accountability manual(TEA, 1999).School- and district-level awards and recognition. From 1989-90 through 1994-95 and 1997-98 through1998-99, state appropriations have been made available for monetary awards to campuses with studentsdemonstrating substantial gain in academic performance on indicators such as those in the AEIS. The first setof campus monetary awards, made in fall 1990 by the Governor’s Educational Excellence Awards Committee(TEC §§34.001 - 34.009, 1990), was based o

Table 1-A. Mean SAT/SAT I Scores by Ethnicity for Texas and the Nation Table 2-A. Mean ACT Scores by Ethnicity for Texas and the Nation Table 3-A. SAT/SAT I and ACT Examinee Totals and Ethnic Group Table 4-B. 1997-98 SAT I and ACT Mean Scores, Percentages Tested, and Combined