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Why aren’t Texas high school students prepared for college?
A high percentage of Texas high school students aren’t ready for college, and a state measure is likely to show that students are as poorly prepared as they were two years ago.
The latest data available from the Texas Education Agency showed that 54 percent of students who graduated in 2014 were college-ready — a measurement that takes into account how well students did on state standardized tests, the ACT or the SAT in math and English. Performance on the SAT and ACT in 2015 was even poorer — 34 percent of those taking the SAT and 27 percent of those taking the ACT were college-ready.
Although 2015 state data won’t be released until the summer, some education advocates and business groups say that the elimination of 11th grade exit-level exams in math and reading and rigorous graduation requirements will probably mean students aren’t any more prepared for college than in past years.
State leaders say there needs to be more teacher professional development and collaboration between higher education institutions and school districts on what is expected for students to succeed after high school.