An Analysis of the Disparity between Urban, Suburban, and Rural Community, Junior and Technical Colleges on TASP Performance: It's Not Just a Minority Problem.

Texas college students must pass all three sections (reading, writing, and mathematics) of the state-mandated Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP) Test or must enroll in remedial course work. Over 98,000 TASP scores from 73 community, junior, and technical colleges for the academic year 1996-1997 were analyzed to ascertain if less-prepared students attend 2-year colleges than universities. Data were segregated into types of colleges (urban, suburban, and rural) and ethnicity (White, Black, Hispanic, and Other). The analyses clearly indicated that rural colleges performed far below the levels of both urban and suburban colleges. A most significant finding was that White students at rural colleges performed significantly below the level of those at urban and suburban colleges. Hispanic students at urban colleges had pass rates slightly higher than Hispanics at suburban colleges and significantly higher than those at rural colleges. Suburban colleges' pass rates were the highest among two-year colleges and nearly equaled the overall pass rate of all Texas institutions of higher education. The number of non-White students who took the test was negatively related to the percentage of students who passed the test, particularly at urban colleges. Half the schools in the study had pass rates of 40.3 percent or less. Pass rates among urban colleges varied more widely than those at suburban and rural colleges. Implications are discussed relative to proposed performance-based funding of Texas colleges, standardized testing in elementary and secondary schools, and ethnic and social disparities. Includes a description of the TASP test, outlines of essential elements in the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS), data tables, and newspaper clippings. (SAS)