A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

   FOR RELEASE                                Contact:  David Thomas    July 31, 1995                                      (202) 401-1579

The new rules, known as "Proposition 16," require high school students who want to participate in college sports to earn more credits in core subjects and meet stricter SAT/ACT and grade point average (GPA) requirements. Under the current "Proposition 48" rules, more than five in six seniors (83.2 percent) are eligible to participate.

If future classes are similar to the Class of 1992 in course taking and achievement, a quarter of college-bound seniors will be excluded from freshman varsity athletics solely on the basis of course work. Another 10 percent would lose eligibility because of low SAT/ACT scores or low GPA in core courses.

The new provisions were adopted by delegates to the 1992 NCAA annual convention and govern student eligibility to practice, compete and receive financial aid for Division I college varsity sports participation. They go into effect in two stages, beginning tomorrow, August 1, and to be fully implemented a year later.

These findings and others are from a new statistical report, Who Can Play? An Examination of NCAA's Proposition 16, prepared by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics. The report uses high school transcripts and survey data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) to study 1992 college-bound high school seniors who graduate on schedule with their high school class, have applied to one or more colleges, and have taken the ACT or SAT college entrance examination.

"It is critical that school counselors, parents, teachers and community members tell students about these changes that affect their schooling and their future," said Sharon P. Robinson, former assistant secretary for educational research and improvement. "By sharing this information, perhaps fewer college freshmen will be excluded from college athletics if they plan ahead."

According to the study, when the new requirements are applied to 1992 seniors:

• fewer minorities meet the three-pronged eligibility requirements. Only about half of black (46.4 percent) and Hispanic (54.1 percent) college-bound seniors meet the new requirements, compared to approximately two-thirds of white and Asian (67 percent each) college-bound seniors. Currently, 64.2 percent of blacks and 67.5 percent of Hispanics meet the Proposition 48 requirements, compared to approximately 86 percent of white and Asian students;

• college-bound seniors from the lowest socioeconomic level are least likely to meet the Proposition 16 requirements, with only 42.3 percent qualifying to play varsity sports as freshmen. Among seniors classified in the highest socioeconomic status (SES) level, 73.4 percent qualify. Under Proposition 48, 58.8 percent of low SES as compared to 90.6 percent of high SES college-bound seniors qualify;

• three-quarters (74.7 percent) of college-bound seniors meet the new course taking requirements of one additional year of English, math course taking that includes geometry and algebra, and one additional academic elective. Nearly all college-bound seniors (96.1 percent) currently meet the existing course requirements of at least 11 core courses including three years of English, two years of math, two years of natural or physical sciences, and two years of social sciences;

• more than 93 percent of Asian, 84 percent of whites, and 76 percent of Hispanics compared to fewer than 61 percent of black college-bound seniors have GPAs of 2.5 or higher in the required courses, the minimum allowed for students with lower SAT/ACT scores. More than 94 percent of Asians, whites and Hispanics and almost 84 percent of blacks had a 2.0 GPA or higher, the new minimum requirement for students with higher SAT/ACT scores.

Stage 1 (effective August 1, 1995) requirements:

• core course work increases from 11 to 13 courses and adds two academic electives.

Stage 2 (effective August 1, 1996) requirements:

• under a sliding scale, as a student's SAT/ACT score increases, the minimum GPA requirement in core course work declines, and as SAT/ACT scores decrease, GPA must increase. For example, student athletes with SAT scores of 700 or ACT scores of 17 must have a GPA of at least 2.5. Student athletes with SAT scores of 900 or ACT scores of 21, must have a GPA of at least 2.0;

• English requirements increase from three to four, math course work must include algebra and geometry, and one additional academic elective is required.

Copies of the report are available by calling the National Library of Education at 1-800-424-1616, or on the Internet gopher system at gopher.ed.gov.