Thanks in part to funding from the Texas Instruments Foundation to the National Math and Science Initiative’s (NMSI) College Readiness Program, students in the Dallas Independent School District (ISD) are outperforming their peers on Advanced Placement (AP) exams.
By partnering with NMSI’s College Readiness Program, Dallas ISD high schools have surpassed the national average in terms of increases in the number of qualifying scores on AP exams in the 2013-2014 school year. In fact, based on Dallas ISD’s work with NMSI, a minority student in Dallas is more than twice as likely to earn a qualifying score on an AP exam or science exam than in any other large urban school district in the country.
Initiated by the O’Donnell Foundation in 1995 and supported by the TI Foundation since 2000, NMSI’s College Readiness Program has grown to include all Dallas ISD high schools and has provided financial awards to thousands of students who might otherwise not have taken and succeeded in rigorous AP coursework. The program also funds stipends for teacher training, as well as equipment and supplies to support AP classes.
“We’ve seen the College Readiness Program make a positive impact on Dallas ISD students’ success in rigorous coursework. And as much as this program is about motivating students, it’s also about teachers. The awards help keep valuable, experienced teachers in the district who inspire their students to achievement in science, math and other important studies,” said Ann Pomykal, TI Foundation director of major education gifts.
The TI Foundation expanded its support of the College Readiness Program to the Lancaster, Richardson and Mesquite ISDs in recent years. To date, the TI Foundation has provided more than $8 million in funding for the program in these four North Texas districts.
The TI Foundation's investment in NMSI’s College Readiness Program is consistent with the organization’s focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and its mission to substantially strengthen the number of high-school graduates who are capable of advanced math and science.
