Schools want more college ready students
November 17, 2008
As school districts prepare for college readiness assessments that will be released by the Texas Education Agency later this month, administrators hope to begin closing the gap that exists between El Paso students' scores and the rest of the state's scores.
Written by Zahira Torres, The El Paso Times
Chelsea Romero reviewed college preparatory material at the Bel Air Go Center Friday. (Victor Calzada / El Paso Times)
EL PASO - As school districts prepare for college readiness assessments that will be released by the Texas Education Agency later this month, administrators hope to begin closing the gap that exists between El Paso students' scores and the rest of the state's scores.
College readiness statistics and SAT/ACT results will be released later this month for the 2007-'08 school year. However, districts throughout the county are not waiting for results to begin implementing programs.
The Ysleta Independent School District on Friday finished unveiling Go Centers at all of its high-school campuses.
Go Centers, which help students apply for scholarships, financial aid and college admissions, are among the programs being implemented at the three largest districts in the county. Ysleta is the first of the three districts to place them at all high-school campuses.
"We are starting to see right at the beginning of this initiative that it is already having a positive effect on how they perceive their ability to get into college, get scholarships and really fulfill the vision of the school district and become productive citizens in our community," said Rick Bentley, associate superintendent of academics for Ysleta.
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board released college readiness standards earlier this year and district administrators said while they do not currently meet each of the expectations set forth, they are working to achieve those standards.
Dual-credit programs have been established throughout the county, four early college high schools have also opened through various districts, and school administrators say some sort of SAT/ACT preparation is provided to students.
"I always knew I would do the impossible to get into college, but then I got to high school and I was scared about paying," said Melissa Vasquez, a senior at Bel Air High School. "I knew my family was not in the best financial situation, but the school has been helping me fill out scholarship and financial aid applications."
Vasquez, who was also pushed by campus counselors to take the SAT three times, said her only complaint is that she wishes the district had started preparing students for college entrance requirements in middle school.
About 30 percent of 2006 Ysleta school district graduates were college-ready in English, 38 percent were prepared in math, and only 19 percent in both subjects, according to the TEA. The district's average SAT score was 805 and the average ACT score was 17.
In Texas two years ago, 48 percent of graduates were college-ready in English, 52 percent were equipped in math, and 35 percent prepared in both subjects. The state's average SAT score was 991, and the average ACT score was 20.1.
Twenty-six percent of 2006 graduates in the Socorro Independent School District were college-ready in English, 34 percent were prepared in math, and 16 percent met criteria in both subjects. The district's average SAT score was 876, and the average ACT score 18.7.
"We have internal data that shows that we are making some gains, but our measure is the state - and until we can close the gap between our district performance and the state, we are not going to be satisfied," said Holly Fields, an assistant superintendent in Socorro.
El Paso Independent School District, which offers college-readiness classes as electives at all of its high-school campuses, came closest to meeting state standards two years ago.
About 37 percent of graduates in the district were college ready in English, 44 percent were prepared in math, and 27 percent in both subjects. The average SAT score was 933, and the average ACT score 20.3, according to TEA.
"We are very proud of those numbers, but we also recognize that it is not good enough," said Terri Jordan, associate superintendent of secondary schools.
Jordan said that she believes various district programs and collaborations will bring higher results when assessments are released at the end of the month.
Related Stories
Fair Use Notice
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond "fair use", you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.