U.T. System News Release

U.T. System to promote Advanced Placement Initiative with focus on opportunities for disadvantaged students

GALVESTON – The University of Texas System will begin a statewide initiative to increase the number of disadvantaged public school students participating in the Advanced Placement program operated by the College Board.

The goal of the initiative is to increase the number of students who complete college-level courses before they graduate from high school, and therefore to increase the number of students prepared for academic success at the state’s colleges and universities. It is hoped that expanding the Advanced Placement program will give disadvantaged students more opportunities to excel.

"The Advanced Placement program has been shown to be an effective means of motivating students to prepare for college, and we want to encourage more students to participate, with special emphasis on under-served populations," said Raul R. Romero, a member of the Board of Regents from Houston.

"Disadvantaged students deserve the chance to complete college-level course work, and to build the sort of credentials that will lift the education and life prospects of thousands of young Texans."

Romero announced the initiative Thursday (August 12) at the regents’ meeting in Galveston. He is chairman of the regents’ Special Committee on Minorities and Women, which is organizing the initiative.

U.T. officials plan to build on current Advanced Placement activities in cooperation with the Texas Education Agency, local school districts, and other entities. The initiative will provide special support such as aid in disseminating information about the Advanced Placement Program to students, parents, and teachers; training teachers to conduct Advanced Placement courses; and enhancing learning opportunities for pre-collegiate students on the campuses of U.T. institutions.

In 1998, slightly more than half of the middle and high schools in Texas had students taking either an Advanced Placement exam or the International Baccalaureate exam. In Texas and nationally, disadvantaged students participate in Advanced Placement at a lower rate.