Business Matters February 2018 | Page 24

with overall worse performance records . For instance , 96 % of Hispanic Grade 8 students in London ISD — the district with overall best student performance records — passed the Math test in 2016 . This share was even higher than the share of 91 % for the White counterparts in the same district .
In West Oso ISD — the district with overall poorest student performance records — the percentage of White students in Grade 8 passing the same Math test was 80 %, which was higher than 69 % for Hispanic students but still below the area-wide average of 83 %.
The patterns of individual end-of-course assessment test results are similar to the broad subject test results at lower grade levels . In general , the percentages of students passing the end-of-course tests are comparable between the city of Corpus Christi and the statewide average .
Locally , relatively more students pass these tests in London , Calallen , and Flour Bluff ISDs than in Corpus Christi and West Oso ISDs . While Hispanics across the area tend to perform worse than Whites in most tests , proportionally more Hispanic students in London ISD pass any of the tests than their White counterparts , except for Algebra . In London ISD , the shares Hispanic students who pass the end-ofcourse tests are between 95 % and 100 %.
The observed performance disparities across schools and demographic groups persist throughout most grade levels . This implies that , other things being equal , a young child who scores well in any subject , such as reading , is more likely to be a high achiever through high school and beyond . A child who fails an assessment test is more likely to drop out from school before college .
COLLEGE / CAREER READINESS
In Texas , students are College Ready and / or Career Ready if they meet certain academic indicators or standardized testing benchmarks set by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board ( THECB ) and the Texas Education Agency ( TEA ). In general , College- and Career-Ready graduates should be able to enter and succeed in entry-level postsecondary courses with no need for remediation .
In the city of Corpus Christi , 30 % of high-school students are College Ready Graduates in both English for Liberal Arts ( ELA ) and Math . Relatively more students are rated as College Ready in ELA than in Math . London ISD has the highest percentage of students as College Ready Graduates , whereas West Oso ISD has the lowest . Only 13 % of West Oso Grade 12 students are College Ready in both fields .
Across different ethnic / race groups , Asians tend to be more College Ready in either ELA or Math . Conversely , only one in 10 ( 11 %) African American students is College Ready in both fields . According to THECB , underprepared students are less likely to successfully complete developmental education courses and they are also less likely to succeed in college .
Similar to college readiness , the percentage of local students rated as Career Ready graduates at 66 % is below the statewide average of 75 %. In contrast to the rating for being College Ready alone ( 13 %), 94 % of West Oso graduates are both College and Career Ready . American Indians ( 83 %) and Asians ( 80 %) in the area tend to be more likely to be College and Career Ready graduates , whereas almost all African American ( 95 %) and Hispanic ( 94 %) graduates specifically from West Oso are College and Career Ready .
23 BUSINESS MATTERS FEBRUARY 2018