Austin ISD trustees accept monitoring report on college-credit progress; board hears gaps for special education and emergent bilingual students

The Austin Independent School District board on Jan. 16 accepted a monitoring report on the districtscorecard measure that tracks college-credit eligibility for 11th- and 12th-grade students.

The report, presented by Superintendent Matias Segura and staff, said the district is seeing higher enrollment in college-credit courses — 64% of 11th and 12th graders were enrolled in a college-credit class in fall 2024 — and that early indicators show 39% of those students have already met the goal this year. But presenters cautioned the data are incomplete in places and that completion, not just enrollment, is the metric the district must raise.

The monitoring item, Goal Progress Measure 3.2, aims to increase the percentage of 11th and 12th graders who are eligible for college credit (by dual credit, OnRamps, AP or IB exam scores, or industry certificates) from 48.2% in 2024 to 53.8% by June 2029. Superintendent Segura told trustees the measure focuses on students who are "eligible," which is a narrower, more rigorous target than prior metrics because eligibility can depend on additional steps, such as TSI completion or colleges accepting transcripts.

Why it matters: Board members said the metric matters because eligible students are more likely to graduate and enter postsecondary education with reduced cost and time. The district tied the monitoring measure to multiple…