College Admissions Testing (SAT and ACT) Questions

Visit the College Board or ACT for testing dates or speak with your school's counselor. You can also contact the College Board at 512-891-8400, or ACT, Inc. at 512-345-1949.

Visit the College Board or ACT for registration information.

Visit the College Board or ACT for registration and high school code information.

Visit the College Board or ACT for information about score reports. You can also contact the College Board at 512-891-8400 or ACT, Inc. at 512-345-1949.

Visit the College Board or ACT for information about how to interpret test scores. You can also contact the College Board at 512-891-8400 or ACT, Inc. at 512-345-1949.

The Texas Education Agency calculates SAT and ACT test score statistics for Texas public high schools directly from test score results provided by the College Board for the SAT and by ACT, Inc., for the ACT Assessment. Statistics such as average scores and percentages of graduates tested are released annually in October/November and made available through the Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS), and in the report, College Admissions Testing of Graduating Seniors in Texas High Schools.

Average ACT and SAT test scores and other related statistics for all national and Texas graduates (public and non-public school graduates combined) are released by the College Board and ACT, Inc., annually in late August. Score statistics for other states are released at the same time. See the most recent College Board reports and ACT reports at their respective sites. Many of the state and national ACT and SAT score statistics also appear in the Texas Education Agency annual report, College Admissions Testing of Graduating Seniors in Texas High Schools.

>>> Return to top of page

A completion rate is the percentage of students from a class of ninth graders or seventh graders who complete their high school programs by their anticipated graduation dates. Rates reported by different organizations may differ because they use: (1) different starting grades in the calculation; (2) different definitions of a school completer or dropout; (3) different definitions of a class (or cohort) of students; or (4) different underlying methods to calculate the rates.

Detailed information about completion rates, including how they are defined and calculated by the Texas Education Agency, can be found in the Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) glossary, the latest report on secondary school completion and dropouts, and the Division of Accountability Research data search.

Search Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) reports or visit the Division of Accountability Research data search.

Students are counted in the completion rate according to their final statuses. A student who drops out of high school in more than one school year is counted as one dropout in one cohort if, by the time the cohort is expected to graduate, the student has not graduated, has not received a General Educational Development (GED) certificate, or is not continuing high school. If the student returns to school and graduates by the time the cohort is expected to graduate, the student is counted as a graduate in the completion rate for that cohort. If the student returns and is continuing high school when the cohort is expected to graduate, he or she is counted as a continuer in the completion rate for that cohort. Continuers are counted as completers in the completion rate. Learn how a repeat dropout also may affect the dropout rate.

Campuses are rated on one of two completion rates for state accountability. Campuses under standard accountability procedures are rated on the Completion I rate. Students who graduate or continue high school are counted as completers in the Completion I rate. A student who drops out of high school in more than one school year, returns and, by the time the cohort is expected to graduate, has graduated or is continuing high school is counted as a completer in the Completion I rate. Campuses registered to be rated under alternative education accountability procedures are rated on the Completion II rate. Students who graduate, receive GEDs, or continue high school are counted as completers in the Completion II rate. A student who drops out of high school in more than one school year, returns and, by the time the cohort is expected to graduate, has graduated, has received a GED, or is continuing high school is counted as a completer in the Completion II rate. See the Accountability Manual for the most current information on the public school accountability system.

A student who drops out of high school is counted as one dropout in one cohort if, by the time the cohort is expected to graduate, the student has not graduated, has not received a General Educational Development (GED) certificate, or is not continuing high school. Often, an older student belongs to a cohort that has already graduated. In such a case, the student is not counted in any of the cohorts currently progressing through high school unless he or she is new to Texas public schools. If a student's cohort has already graduated, the student will not affect the completion rate used for accountability purposes. Learn how enrolling an older student also may affect the dropout rate if the student drops out.

A dropout in the longitudinal rate is counted according to the dropout definition in place the year the student leaves high school. The NCES dropout definition, implemented beginning with the 2005-06 school year, will affect all leavers in the completion rate by the class of 2009.

>>> Return to top of page

Information about dropout rates, including how they are defined and calculated by the Texas Education Agency, can be found in the Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) glossary, the latest report on secondary school completion and dropouts, and the Division of Accountability Research data search.

An attrition rate compares campus, district, or state enrollment in 9th grade with enrollment in 12th grade three years later. An attrition rate does not take into account students who move in or out of the campus, district, or state over the four-year period, nor does it take into account students who are still enrolled but were retained and have not reached Grade 12. An attrition rate is based on the assumption that students who are not enrolled in the 12th grade three years later have dropped out, when, in fact, some of those students may have transferred out of state, to a private school, or to home schooling, or may have obtained a General Educational Development (GED) certificate.

The annual dropout rate produced by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for Grades 7-12 is based on district reporting of dropouts, exclusive of students who transferred out of state or to private school, or obtained a GED certificate. Tracking individual students enables TEA to report dropout rates that are more accurate than rates based on enrollment totals.

Read the latest report on secondary school completion and dropouts.

Search Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) reports or visit the Texas Education Agency Division of Accountability Research data search.

The report is available in early August. Read the latest report on secondary school completion and dropouts, or join the Texas Education Agency Division of Accountability Research E-mail List to be notified of new publications.

Information about accountability ratings appeals can be found in the Accountability Manual. You may also contact the Texas Education Agency Publications Division at 512-463-9744 to obtain printed copies of the manual.

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) Division of Accountability Research does not maintain information on dropout prevention. Contact the TEA Division of College and Career Readiness Initiatives at 512-936-6060 or the education service center for your region. You may also wish to visit the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network on the Web.

A student who drops out in one school year, returns in a later school year, and drops out again is counted as a dropout in the annual dropout rate for both school years. For example, a student who drops out in 2004-05 and who returns in 2006-07 and drops out again in that school year is counted as a dropout in the annual dropout rates for 2004-05 and 2006-07. The annual dropout rate is a measure of how many students drop out in one school year. Texas uses the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) definition of a dropout. Under the NCES definition, a student is counted as a dropout in each year he or she drops out. Learn how a repeat dropout also may affect the completion rate.

A student who drops out, regardless of age, is counted as a dropout in the annual dropout rate. Learn how enrolling an older student also may affect the completion rate if the student drops out.

>>> Return to top of page

Each fall, Texas school districts report to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) on students in attendance or enrollment in Grades 7-12 the previous school year. Districts submit an enrollment record for the new school year for each student who returned and a "leaver record" for each student who left the district. Each leaver record includes a "leaver reason." The leaver reasons fall into three main groups: graduated, continued high school elsewhere, or dropped out.

All counts of high school graduates from Texas public schools come from leaver records. In addition, the information is used by TEA to prepare a variety of reports and educational indicators on high school dropouts. The data are also used to calculate the percentages of students reported to have left for other reasons, such as moving to other states, enrolling in private schools, or participating in home schooling. A complete list of leaver reasons is available in the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) Data Standards. To find the standards for a particular year, go first to PEIMS Data Standards; select a year; select Section 4, Description of Codes; then search the Alphabetical List of Code Tables for "LEAVER-REASON-CODE" and the page number reference. To learn more about how leaver records are processed or to see the most recent leaver data, read the latest report on secondary school completion and dropouts.

The Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) Data Standards provide detailed information about coding each record required in PEIMS. For assistance, please contact the PEIMS coordinator at your school district's education service center.

See Appendix D of the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) Data Standards, available on the Texas Education Agency (TEA) website. For assistance, please contact the PEIMS coordinator at your education service center or contact the Investigations and Interventions Unit of the TEA Division of Program Monitoring and Interventions at 512-463-9414 or pmidivision@tea.state.tx.us.

>>> Return to top of page

The retention rate reported by the Texas Education Agency is an annual rate that shows the percentage of students who, in the fall of a given school year, were enrolled in the same grade level as reported for the last six-week period of attendance in the previous year. Additional information about grade-level retention rates, including how they are defined and calculated, can be found in the Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) glossary and the latest report on grade-level retention.

Search Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) reports or read the latest report on grade-level retention.

>>> Return to top of page