In The News
"Researchers Accuse Selective Colleges
of Giving Admissions Tests Too Much Weight" Published in The
Chronicle of Higher Education, May 2, 2008 
State lawmaker wants
ten-percent rule, Automatic college admissions policy has been implemented in
Texas, Calif., and Fla. ; Published in the Michigan Daily News, April 14, 2008
Top Students to get
priority at Michigan universities: Public colleges likely to oppose admissions
change; Published in Lansing State Journal (MI), April 11, 2008
University of
Texas-Austin Sued Over Re-Introduction of Racial and Ethnic Preferences in
Undergraduate Admissions ; Press Release published by Project for Fair
Representation, April 7, 2008
"Major Shifts in College Admissions
Policies in Texas had Unforeseen Consequences" Published in The
Chronicle of Higher Education, March 27, 2008
More News »
STUDY OVERVIEW
The Texas Higher
Education Opportunity Project (THEOP) investigates college planning and enrollment
behavior under a policy that guarantees high school seniors who
graduate in the top 10% of their class admission to any Texas
public college or university. The study is based on a two-cohort
longitudinal survey of sophomores and seniors who were enrolled in
Texas public schools as of spring, 2002. The senior cohort was
re-interviewed in 2003 and again in 2006. Sophomores were
re-interviewed in 2004, when most were high school seniors.
[Survey Overview]
The investigators have also assembled administrative data from 7
public and 2 private universities in Texas. The administrative data files,
which include applicant records and term files for enrollees, have
been standardized for maximum comparability over time
and across institutions.
The baseline applicant files
provide data on personal background, educational background, and application data.
[Administrative
Data Overview]
FUNDING
Funding for THEOP
is provided by the Spencer Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the
Hewlett Foundation, the
Mellon Foundation, the National Science Foundation
and
Princeton University.
CURRENT EVENTS
May 10, 2008:
Jason Fletcher presents "High School Peer Networks and College Success: Lessons from Texas"
at SOLE (Society of Labor Economists) Annual Meeting, New York, NY
May 1, 2008:
Marta Tienda and Jason Fletcher present paper "High School Peer Networks and College Success: Lessons from Texas"
at NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research) Higher Education
Working Group Meeting, Cambridge, MA.
******COMING SOON******
Release of Public-Use Data Sets for:
- Administrative Data (Base and Term files for 9 Public and
Private Texas Universities)
AERA
The American Educational Research Association hosted a session about the Texas Top 10% law at its 2008
Meeting. The session is titled "Race Neutral College Admissions:
Lessons from the Texas Percent Plan." Thurston Domina is the
discussant.
About the Session:
"This session evaluates the
intended and unintended consequences of the Texas top 10% law
passed in 1997 in response to the judicial prohibition of
race-sensitive admissions. Once heralded as a race-neutral
alternative to affirmative action that broadens access to
selective public universities, the Texas percent plan now is the
focus of considerable political opposition. Using administrative
data from several Texas institutions that differ in the
selectivity of their admissions, the papers in this session
assess how the applicant pool changed under the law, for which
students college access was expanded, and whether academic
performance is compromised by using a single merit criterion for
college admission."
Papers Presented:
"Missing in Application: The Texas
Top 10% Law and Campus Socioeconomic Diversity" by Dawn Koffman
and Marta Tienda
[Abstract]
"Changes in Texas Universities'
Applicant Pools after the Hopwood Decision" by Mark Long and
Marta Tienda
[
Abstract]
"Top 10% Law and Minority Student
Academic Performance: Lessons from UT-Austin" by Sunny X. Niu
and Marta Tienda [
Abstract]
"Race and Ethnic Differences in
College Achievement: Does High School Attended Matter?" by Jason
Fletcher and Marta Tienda [
Abstract]
