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Page 7 • Wednesday, September 2, 1998
rading the teacher
Record number of Texans take SAT
1 percent of teacher prep courses in Texas fall below standards
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AUSTIN (AP) — Thirty-five
SSleducator preparation pro
ms in Texas did not meet
te standards, which are
>ed on the percentage of stu-
itslwho pass teacher certifi-
ion exams, according to first-
?r ratings of the programs
aased Tuesday.
“These ratings are the first of
ir ki nd in the nation. Over time,
’re certain they will result in the
redsed effectiveness of begin-
g teachers,” said Jim Nelson,
linnan of the State Board for Ed
itor Certification.
The board released the rat-
,s of universities, education
vice centers and school dis-
Tslthat prepare teachers to
work in Texas public schools.
Called the Accountability Sys
tem for Educator Preparation,
the rating system was autho
rized in a 1995 overhaul of state
education laws.
The 50 programs meeting
state standards received an “ac
credited” rating. The 35 that did
not are rated “accredited under
review.”
The programs that did not
meet state standards have three
years to do so or lose the au
thority to recommend people for
teaching certificates under the
law, said Stephanie Korcheck,
director of policy and planning
for the certification board.
To receive an “accredited” rat
ing, programs must meet one of
two minimum performance levels:
— 70 percent of first-time cer
tification test-takers must pass.
This includes not only the total
students, but the categories of
male, female, black, Hispanic,
white and other.
— 80 percent of those taking
the test for at least the second
time must pass, both overall and
in the demographic categories.
If a program was rated “ac
credited under review” due to
the passing rate of a demo
graphic group containing fewer
than 10 students, the program
may appeal the rating. Of the 35
listed as not meeting standards,
19 are eligible to appeal.
AUSTIN [AP) — Texas students’
scores on the SAT college entrance
exam were unchanged this year,
although a record number of the
1998 high school graduating class
took the test, according to figures
released Tuesday.
“It is encouraging that our
scores remained stable despite the
record increase in the number of
students taking the exam,” said
Texas Education Commissioner
Mike Moses.
According to Moses, testing ex
perts say that test scores “typical
ly go down when the number of
students taking the test goes up.”
The average Texas score on the
verbal portion of the SAT was 494
this year, the same as last year. On
the math section, the average
Texas score remained at 501.
Both were lower than the na
tional average.
Students nationally had an av
erage math score of 512, up a point
from last year, and an average ver
bal score of 505, the same as in
“/t is encouraging
that our scores
remain stable
despite the record
increase of students
taking the exam"
— Mike Moses
Texas Education Commissioner
1997.
But in Texas, 48 percent of the
Class of ’98 took the SAT. That
compares with about 43 percent
nationally, according to the Texas
Education Agency.
A total of 100,417 students in
Texas public and private schools
took the test — 6,383 more than
1997 and the largest increase in 10
years.
The College Board, which ad
ministers the Scholastic Assessment
Test, also reported that a record
number of Texans took Advanced
Placement exams, which allow high
school students to earn college cred
it if they receive a high score.
A total of 44,093 Texas students
took 74,192 AP exams this year,
more than a 300 percent increase
in student participation in the pro
gram over the past 10 years, TEA
said.
The number of minority stu
dents who took AP exams also in
creased substantially.
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Sunday AM
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Wednesday
Bible Study
Worship
Worship
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9:00 a m.
10:00 a.m.
6:00 p.m.
7:00 p. m.
Services in Spanish at the same times
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First Meeting Monday, September 7"' at 7:30pm in Kleberg room 117
Questions??? Call Jeff @ 693-1850 David @ 778-4937 Kirsten @ 821-6279
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Taking the
DAT
this October ?
2 reasons
yOU should take
The Princeton
Review HOW
1
Four Full-length, Proctored Diags
No one else gives you more opportunities to test your wits
against the exam under realistic testing conditions.
Current DAT Materials
The Princeton Review's materials are based solely on
DATs givemn the last year. Learn the DAT as it is now
not as it was five years ago.
Classes
start-
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jmTHE
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REVIEW
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www.review.com
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Howdy Dance
The Class of‘99, ‘00, and ‘01
Welcome the new Freshmen
lass of 2002
to Texas A&M.
Come out and join the fun and dancing
after All-U Night at Kyle Field.
Go with your Fish Camp DG!
L— i—u
Ik M
Wednesday, September 2, 1998
9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.
Harry’s
(across from Zachry, on South College)
Questions? Call Dana Devlin at 845-1515