LATINO STUDENT IMPROVEMENTS ON THE TAAS EXAM

Minority student pass rates in Texas on the TAAS exam consistently have lagged behind those for Anglo students. Recent trends in Latino test scores, however, show some slight gains. From 1995 to 1998, the statewide pass rate for Latino students on the TAAS has improved from 46.1 % to 61.9%, compared to a rate of change for non-minority students of 74.8 % to 87.9%. This narrowing of the gap in Latino/Anglo pass rates, while modest, is notable, but much more progress is needed. One of the major goals of the Texas Educational Excellence Project is identifying those school districts that have made significant strides in improving the performance of Latino students on the TAAS exam. By identifying exemplary districts, we hope to provide the public and policy makers with information that will inform future policy making efforts aimed at improving Latino education in Texas. The technique of analysis used by the Texas Educational Excellence Project is that of multiple regression. This analytical tool makes it possible to develop generalizations about the overall performance of Texas school districts in educating Latino students, while also providing information that can be used to make comparisons across individual school districts. Our model is based on what is generally know as an education “production function ” where student performanc