Austin ISD students earned higher overall SAT and ACT college admission test scores than average scores for the state and nation, according to an Oct. 7 district news release.
Results from the College Board and ACT, Inc. showed AISD students' average overall SAT score was 1507, compared with 1432 statewide and 1497 nationally. AISD students' average ACT composite score was 21.9, exceeding the state's 20.9 and nation's 21.0 average composite scores.
Interim chief schools officer Edmund Oropez said AISD has made a fundamental shift in the past several years in terms of focusing on college-readiness rather than focusing primarily on graduation rates. For the past five years, AISD has paid for every sophomore and junior to take the PSAT at an annual cost of about $108,000 for the district, he said.
"We think that that investment has paid off," he said, adding: "This really is showing that all of our kids are being successful and being better prepared for college."
