Texas math and science ACT scores increase

Composite score holds at record level



AUSTIN - Texas members of the Class of 2010 have earned the highest mathematics and science scores posted on the ACT in the past decade, even as the number of test takers rose by 12 percent this year.



The overall composite score for Texas test takers remained steady at last year’s record high score of 20.8.



“The Class of 2010 has proven itself to be a pace setter. More of these students are planning to attend college and they set new records by earning Texas’ highest math and science scores. In fact, their average math score is substantially higher than the national average for math. Most of our student groups also outperformed their counterparts nationally,” said Commissioner of Education Robert Scott.



The ACT is comprised of four sections, English, mathematics, reading and science, and each section is scored on a scale of 1-36. In addition to receiving individual scores for each section, students also receive a composite score, which is an average of the four sections.



Among the Class of 2010, 92,615 Texas seniors took the ACT, compared to 82,640 members from the Class of 2009. Much of the increase is attributed to a fee waiver that allows low-income students to take the test for free.



When underclassmen are considered as well, a total of 188,209 Texans took the ACT this year, an increase of 18 percent over the previous year. This spring, Texas offered high school juniors the opportunity to take the ACT or SAT free of charge, and thousands took advantage of this offer. The Texas Education Agency will announce in early 2011 whether this opportunity will be available this spring for juniors in the Class of 2012.





The top 10 Texas universities, in rank order, that students asked to have their ACT scores sent to are:



The University of Texas – Austin;

Texas A&M University – College Station;

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 – Main Campus;

Sam Houston State University.