Emails, Zach Goldberg, director, external communications, The College Board, Feb. 26 and March 11, 2015

1:30 p.m.

Feb. 26, 2015

Dallas ISD has been a leader in working to ensure that all students with the potential to succeed in AP courses are able to access those opportunities.

The National Math and Science Initiative can share information on Governor Abbott’s specific reference to Dallas ISD. I’d recommend you contact Gregg Fleisher there:

Gregg Fleisher

Chief Academic Officer

Transforming Math & Science Education

…

nms.org

Here’s some additional stats on Texas overall, which may be helpful:

-225,627 Texas students took AP exams in 2014, an increase of 9.2% from the previous year (33.3% over 5 years); this compares to an increase of 5.8% nationally

-Texas students took 410,788 AP exams, an increase of 9.1% (33.7% over 5 years); this compares to an increase of 6.2% nationally

-195,009 AP exams in Texas earned a 3 or higher, an increase of 11.6% (38.8% over 5 years); this compares to an increase of 6.6% nationally

-Participation by all groups in Texas has increased, with African American students increasing by 11.9 % and Hispanic students increasing by 9.6%  (40.4% and 44.5% respectively over 5 years)

-Performance (students with scores of 3 or higher) increased for all groups in Texas, with African American students increasing by 17.8% and Hispanic students increasing by 16.4%  (36.4% and 32.8% respectively over 5 years)

Zach Goldberg

Director, External Communications

The College Board

New York, NY

From: Selby, Gardner (CMG-Austin) [mailto:wgselby@statesman.com]

Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2015 12:37 PM

To: Goldberg, Zachary

Subject: Following up from Texas

Hello again.

I couldn’t tell from your reply if the College Board finds the claim accurate or not.

This is the claim we’re trying to explore: Dallas “African-American and Hispanic students pass AP exams at a higher rate than any other place in America.”

I’m told the data used for comparison purposes by the Dallas-based initiative is confidential to the initiative and the board.

So I am also following up to see if the board double-checked/confirmed the analysis’ conclusions. Was there any other independent look at it? And again, does the board see this statement as accurate or not; why or why not?

g.

W. Gardner Selby

Reporter / News

Austin American-Statesman

PolitiFact Texas

4:32 p.m.

March 11, 2015

As I emailed before, Dallas ISD has been a leader in working to ensure that all students with the potential to succeed in AP courses are able to access those opportunities.

The College Board is able to provide national and state-level AP data. NMSI is a partner and we have no reason to doubt what they have provided.

Zach Goldberg

Director, External Communications

The College Board

New York, NY