AUSTIN

Texas high school graduates enter college far less ready for the harder course load than other students do, according to new research. The study shows nearly half of the state's college freshmen take remedial classes, which includes 63 percent of college-bound Hispanics who qualify for remedial programs.

The number is well above the 28 percent of freshmen elsewhere in the United States who are enrolled in remedial or development courses, according to data unveiled by a state panel appointed by Gov. Rick Perry.

The Commission for a College Ready Texas went on to say that state curriculum standards are too flimsy and that a passing score on the state's high school graduation test does not prove a student is ready for college.

“We have a big hill to climb in Texas,” said Sandy Kress, chairman of the commission and former education adviser to President Bush.

“This report is for parents, teachers and students,” education board member Barbara Cargill, R-The Woodlands, told the Star-Telegram. Cargill is also a member of the Commission for a College Ready Texas. “It’s a guidebook that will give [teachers] an understanding of what the business world expects, so when a huge company in Texas wants to hire employees, they won't have to go out of state to find employees.”

Among the recommendations the panel plans to make to state education leaders is for new, college-oriented curriculum standards for English, math, science and social studies courses taught in public schools.

The commission also recommends that all institutions of higher education that are responsible for teacher preparation, including alternative certification, should incorporate these standards. Institutions should also be rewarded for increasing the number of students who successfully complete their degree programs, it said.

The study noted that only 18 percent of Texas students who took the ACT college entrance exam met college readiness benchmarks in those areas. The percentages were even smaller for Black and Hispanic students.