TEA News Releases Online Aug. 20, 2014

Number of Texas students taking ACT hits new high

AUSTIN – Commissioner of Education Michael Williams has announced that the number of Texas students in the 2014 graduating class taking the ACT college admission test hit a new high.

According to a report released today by ACT, 116,547 Texas students took the ACT (up by more than 6,700 students from 2013). In addition, 45,717 Hispanic students took the ACT in 2014. The 2014 Texas Hispanic student participation rate (39 percent) is more than double the nationally ACT-tested population (15 percent).

“ACT participation numbers reveal a commitment by school districts across Texas to position students for success beyond high school,” said Commissioner Williams. “The growing number of Texas students with aspirations of earning a postsecondary degree bodes extremely well for the future of our state.”

ACT tests are administered for a number of subject areas including English, math, reading, science and writing (optional). Texas scores increased in two of those areas (excluding the optional writing test) in 2014:

English – 19.8 (compared to 19.8 in 2013)

Math – 21.4 (compared to 21.5 in 2013)

Reading – 21.1 (compared to 21.0 in 2013)

Science – 21.0 (compared to 20.9 in 2013)

Composite – 20.9 (compared to 20.9 in 2013)

The 2014 ACT composite scores for Texas students continued to surpass the national average in mathematics and science.

SUBJECT

TEXAS

NATIONAL

Mathematics

21.4

20.9

Science

21.0

20.8

Reading

21.1

21.3

English

19.8

20.3

Composite

20.9

21.0

Additional highlights of the Texas ACT results for the Class of 2014 include:

The 2014 composite score for white students in Texas is at an all-time high of 23.4, which is 1.1 points higher than their national counterparts (22.3).

The 2014 composite score for African-American students in Texas is at an all-time high of 17.7, which is .7 points higher than their national counterparts (17.0).

The 2014 composite score for Hispanic/Latino students in Texas of 18.8 is equal to their national counterparts.

Eighty percent of the Texas graduating Class of 2014 elected to take the writing test compared to 53 percent nationally. The average essay score for Texas students was 6.6 (compared to the national average of 7.1).

Twenty percent of students (23,279) plan on careers in health sciences and technologies, while business and engineering careers are tied for second at 11 percent. Fourteen percent were undecided.

From 2010 to 2014, the number of ACT test-taking graduates in Texas has increased by 25.8 percent.

The top 10 Texas universities (in descending order) receiving scores from Texas ACT test-takers were: Texas A&M University; University of Texas at Austin; Texas Tech University; Texas State University; Baylor University; University of Texas at San Antonio; University of North Texas; University of Texas – Pan American; University of Houston; and Sam Houston State University.