The University Interscholastic League said that out of another 16,260 tests conducted from January through May, only eight confirmed steroid use.
More than 45,000 tests have found just 19 cases of steroid use since February 2008.
Texas lawmakers approved the $6 million program in 2007, driven by headlines of professional athletes using performance enhancing drugs and fears that rampant use had spread to the high school level.
The Texas program is by far the largest in the country. More than 700,000 athletes are eligible to be randomly selected and required to provide a urine sample to be tested.
The first 29,000 tests produced only 11 confirmed cases, causing some critics to say the program was a waste of time and money. Others argued it is an effective deterrent. Either way, state lawmakers agreed in May to slash funding by two-thirds, to $2 million over the next two years.
Test are conducted by the National Center for Drug Free Sport, which also tests athletes for the NCAA.
The tests conducted from January through May collected samples from 10,276 males and 5,984 females from 266 schools. Although out of season, football was the sport most tested among males with 3,135. Among females, the sport most tested was soccer with 830.
Every athlete to test positive was male. Of those eight, seven were listed as a football player or as a multi-sport athlete including football. One tennis player tested positive.
The latest tests also include one unresolved test, a baseball player who had high levels of testosterone. UIL officials said that student moved out of state and was unavailable for further testing to confirm the finding.
UIL officials also reported 62 “protocol positives,” which happens when an athlete refuses to provide a urine sample or has an unexcused absence the day they were selected.
An athlete who tests positive or breaks protocol is suspended from sports for 30 school days. To regain eligibility, take another test and be clear of steroids.
