August 27, 2015 3:08 PM

ACT participation up in Texas, college readiness remains flat

Texas, unlike many states, has not collected course-level data for students until now, so it has been difficult to track changes in the requirements for a high school diploma

A record number of Texas graduates took the ACT college admissions test last year, but gaps in data make it difficult to assess what is going to keep those students on track for being ready to complete a certification or college degree.

Just over 40 percent of the Class of 2015, or 124,764 students, took the ACT. Numbers for the SAT, out typically in October, are expected to be larger. Because the SAT and ACT are a component of the state’s indices on college readiness, the majority of students do take one test, or both. For the Class of 2013, it was 66 percent, although the percentage can be as high as 98 or 99 percent for a high school such as Westlake in Eanes or Memorial in Spring Branch.

What hasn’t changed is the overall performance on the exams.

Texas, unlike many states, has not collected course-level data for students until now, so it has been difficult to track changes in the requirements for a high school diploma. For instance, it is not clear whether Texas’ requirement of four years of science and math made a significant impact on the scores on college admission tests.

By Kimberly Reeves