Some Overlooked Truths About Oklahoma Student Performance

Or a candid look at how schools are really doing. Things that have been hidden in plain sight.

Introduction

Over the last several years there has been much discussion as to how Oklahoma ranks in terms of state funding for common education. These statements have often been erroneously associated with Oklahomas public school performance. This presentation is designed to highlight data, as reported through the appropriate organizations or companies, that indicate Oklahomas path for continual improvement has produced some interesting results.

Source Document: Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education 2012 Report http://www.okhighered.org/studies-reports/annual-report2012.pdf

Did you know?... the fall 2012 enrollment of 191,537 in our public institutions of higher education was near record level and 100% of those students at least met the minimum criteria for entrance into their chosen college or university. the fall 2012 enrollment of 8,427 first-time entering students in our two research universities was an all-time high and represented a 6% increase. in the spring of 2012 an all-time high of 34,134 certificates and degrees were confirmed by our public colleges and universities.

Based on the latest data available Oklahoma is ranked 22nd in the nation in the percentage of the states population 18 and older enrolled in public higher education.

Oklahomas Promise has grown from just over 2,000 qualifying students in 2001 to 20,000 students receiving scholarships in FY 2012.
Most recently, more than 7,500 students participated in Concurrent Enrollment covering nearly 20,000 courses and 98,000 credit hours.

Source Documents: ACT National and State Scores 2013 Digest of Educational Statistics The SAT Report on College and Career Readiness: 2012 http://www.act.org/newsroom/data/2013/states.html http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d12/tables/dt12_046.asp http://research.collegeboard.org/programs/sat/data/cb-seniors-2013
Did you know?... Oklahoma compares favorably with national ACT Average Composite Scores.
Percent of Graduates Tested Average Composite Score Average English Score Average Math Score Average Reading Score Average Science Score
Poverty by Free and Reduced Lunch Poverty Rank Most Poverty to Least

National
Oklahoma

54% 75%

20.9 20.8

20.2 20.4

20.9 20.1

21.1 21.4

20.7 20.8

48.1% 60.5% 5th

Oklahoma also compares favorably with national SAT Scores.

Percent of Graduates Tested Critical Reading Math Writing Combined Poverty by Free and reduced Lunch Poverty Rank Most Poverty to Least

National
Oklahoma

52%

496

514

488

1498

48.1%

5%

568

566

546

1680

60.5%

5th

Did you know ACT Oklahoma ranks 30th in ACT performance as measured by the average composite score. Of the top 15 states measured by the ACT composite score performance, only 1 tested more than 27% of their graduates. Oklahoma tested 75%.

Of the 29 states ranked ahead of Oklahoma only 3 tested a percentage equal to or greater than Oklahoma. Of the 29 states that scored better than Oklahoma on the ACT composite score, none had a poverty rate equal to or greater than OK. In fact 21 of the 29 are listed as part of the 25 least poverty states. Of the 16 states that tested graduates at a percentage equal to or greater than Oklahoma, only 3 had a better ACT composite score.

SAT
Oklahoma ranks 17th in SAT combined performance. None of the 16 states ahead of Oklahoma had a greater poverty rate. Of the top 20 states in the SAT combined performance, only 4 tested more than 10% of their graduates. Only 2 of the top 25 in the SAT combine performance were in the top 25 in percentage of graduates tested. The lowest ranking 15 states in the SAT combined performance category are all in the top 25 in state poverty. The lowest ranking 15 states in the SAT combined performance category all tested at least 74% of the graduating seniors.
Of the 7 academic areas measured by the ACT and SAT Oklahoma exceeds the national averages in 6. The exception is ACT Math. There are 16 states that equaled or exceeded national averages in all 7 academic areas. Of those 16 states only 2 tested a percentage of graduates equal to or greater than Oklahoma on the ACT and there were only 3 states that tested at least 75% of their graduates on the SAT.

Source Documents
Oklahoma Educational Indicators Programs Profiles 2012 State Report Developmental Education - Oklahoma High School Indicators Project http://www.schoolreportcard.org/oeip-state.asp

http://www.okhighered.org/oeis/preparation/RemediationRates.shtml

Did you know? College Remediation the college remediation rate of just over 40% only includes students attending Oklahoma public institutions of higher education. This gives the illusion that 4 out of 10 graduating high school seniors are requiring at least one developmental class. two significant groups of students are left out of this conversation. First students that attend out of state colleges and universities (a little over 5%) and students that attend one of our 31 private degree bearing colleges or universities. These two categories represent a significant number of higher performing high school students that are not included in the calculation. the distribution lists for out of state colleges and universities to receive test results from students for both ACT and SAT include very few that would even offer a developmental course. if the total number of students were included, the remediation rate would look remarkably different. Possibly less than national average of about 33%.

of the remediation that occurs about 79% takes place in the community colleges, with a little more than 17% in the regional universities and a little less than 3% at our research universities. This is certainly reflective of the tiered admissions standards of Oklahomas public institutions of higher education.

of the remediation that occurs, very little is directed toward science (about 1.5%) or reading (a little less than 6%). Most of the remediation is directed toward math and English.

Observations
Oklahoma reflects well when compared to national averages of ACT and SAT. Oklahoma reflects well when compared to other states for college accessibility. Oklahoma reflects especially well when viewed through poverty. Many may argue the degree of impact of poverty on academic performance, but the fact that it has a measurable impact should be concerning to us all, as Oklahomas free and reduced lunch eligibility rates continue to increase. The two areas for Oklahoma public schools to have the greatest impact for improving college and career readiness would be in English and math. It could be argued our current OCCT/EOI system has been inadequate and should be replaced by an assessment system more aligned with our states choice of the ACT college entrance exam. Oklahoma has chosen to test more students on the ACT than the national average and most states. Oklahoma has also aggressively and dramatically increased the accessibility and opportunity for students to attend college. Both will impact how we compare until all states are similar in practice. One would hope that to increase ACT scores and reduce remediation, a decrease in participation would not be the strategy of choice. For more than two decades Oklahoma public schools have been part of continuous reforms that have seen us position ourselves for greater heights.

Just imagine what we could do with a little more positive support