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Monday, September 29, 1997

Standardized test opponents applaud Texas moves

AUSTIN (AP) -- Moves to de-emphasize test scores in Texas college admissions are drawing praise from opponents of standardized testing.

Beginning in fall 1998, students in the top 10 percent of their high school classes will automatically be eligible for admission to four-year public universities, regardless of their test scores.

The move is a try at preserving racial diversity in public universities after a court decision banned use of affirmative action in admissions decisions.

"People who believe that test scores alone are merit are living in a different world," said Robert Schaeffer of FairTest, a watchdog group that applauds the change.

A Higher Education Coordinating Board committee had recommended in January that standardized tests not be used as the main screener in admissions decisions.

"Use of standardized tests unduly limits admissions," the committee report said. "It also has a chilling effect on the motivations and aspirations of underserved populations."

In Texas, minority and low-income students' performance on standardized tests has improved slowly in recent years. White students' performance also has improved, maintaining a gap at both the public school and college levels.

Twenty-six percent of black fourth-graders passed all sections of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills in 1992-93. Five years later, in 1996-97, 53 percent passed. But white fourth-graders' passing rate also increased from 61 percent to 81 percent. Consequently, a gap of nearly 30 points remains.

A similar gap shows up in scores on the American College Test and Scholastic Assessment Test, which most colleges and universities use to at least some extent in admissions decisions.

"Kids are much more than their test scores," Schaeffer said. "If you weight tests heavily, you get kids who test well."

To graduate from Texas high schools, students must pass the TAAS exit test.

Educators say there are a various reasons for the test-score gap: inequitable or inadequate school financing, language differences, poverty, and family background.