With a higher percentage of Westlake High School seniors being admitted to The University of Texas and Texas A&M University for the 2012–13 school year, Eanes ISD officials say the decision to eliminate class ranking two years ago has seemingly paid off.

The Eanes ISD board voted in 2010 to eliminate class ranks for students outside of the top 10 percent, which state law requires districts to track. Eliminating class rank for students in the bottom 90 percent means colleges are more likely to look at a student's transcript and overall achievement instead of where they ranked in an academically competitive school, WHS Guidance Director Jeff Pilchiek said.

"It is driving [college admissions offices] onto the transcript," he said.

Eanes ISD eliminated class rank for the bottom 90 percent after doing a comprehensive study on the issue, said Bill Bechtol, Eanes ISD assistant superintendent for curriculum. A number of students were being denied admission to colleges despite having high grade point averages and doing well on the SAT and ACT, he said.

"It really puts more of the responsibility and control on the student and not on the admissions office process," he said.

Pilchiek and Bechtol shared their thoughts about class rank and college admissions during a Sept. 27 school board meeting.

In addition to the admission report, Bechtol shared the results of a survey that was given to class of 2011 graduates on how well they were prepared for college.

"[Pilchiek] has shown [the students] are definitely college-ready; we are trying to see if they are college-successful," he said.

Of the 85 graduates who took the survey, 92 percent said they were prepared or very academically prepared for college. However, a higher percentage said they were not prepared for writing on the college level.

Bechtol said the new writing requirements for the STAAR end-of-course exam should help better prepare students for writing on a college level.

"I expect students to turn those numbers around," he said.

UT-Austin, Texas A&M and Baylor University continue to be the most popular college choices for WHS graduates, Pilchiek said.

The SAT scores for math and science slightly dropped for last year's graduating class, though only by 28 points, the report said. Despite the dip, the SAT scores were still 330 points above the state average, the report said.