Morgan Smith
was an editorial intern and columnist at Slate in Washington, D.C., before moving to Austin to enter law school at the University of Texas in 2008. (She has put her degree on hold to join the Tribune's staff.) A native of San Antonio, she has a bachelor's degree in English from Wellesley College.
msmith@texastribune.org
512.716.8620
Recent Contributions
Texas Education Agency commissioner Robert Scott touched off political controversy this week when he told a gathering of 4,000 school officials in Austin that standardized testing had gone too far in Texas.
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Some high-profile members of the education community aren't pleased with Texas Education Agency chief Robert Scott's speech on Tuesday criticizing the role of testing in schools.
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Texas Education Agency Commissioner Robert Scott received a standing ovation today after he told a gathering of public school educators that the state testing system has become a "perversion of its original intent."
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In a state where the football field is hallowed turf, Premont ISD has suspended all athletics — including football — to improve its struggling finances.
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In a daring and rare move in a state where the football field is hallowed turf, a superindent has suspended all athletics to help his South Texas district improve its struggling finances.
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This year, for the first time, students' scores on standardized tests will count 15 percent toward their final grades. It sounds straightforward, but how some districts are applying the so-called 15 percent rule threatens to spark the next political battle over a test that has seen plenty of them.
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Cultural institutions that once counted on revenue from student field trips are feeling the hit of the state's multibillion-dollar education cuts.
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Both came ready to brawl. But neither Gov. Rick Perry nor U.S. Rep. Ron Paul managed to nudge Mitt Romney out of the limelight at this morning’s debate.
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As his bus tour rolls to a stop and his campaign readies for the critical Iowa caucuses on Tuesday, the Texas governor appears to be hitting his stride after months of bumbles.
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After the last two scheduled stops of his tour today, Gov. Rick Perry made an impromptu visit to a local precinct leader and knocked on a few doors in a West Des Moines neighborhood.
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Amid renewed attacks on Rick Santorum today, Gov. Rick Perry answered a question that's been on many minds since July: the whereabouts of his signature cowboy boots.
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In the last decade, companies have flocked to San Antonio, making it an economic center rivaling Houston and Dallas, and rattling the Alamo City's pre-existing inferiority complex.
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On the heels of a CNN/Time poll showing Rick Santorum climbing into third place in Iowa, Gov. Rick Perry took a swipe at him during the first stop of his bus tour today.
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In front of an energetic crowd in Cedar Rapids, Gov. Rick Perry was taken off guard by a question on a famous Supreme Court case striking down anti-sodomy laws.
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Save for a few veiled swipes at his Republican rivals, Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday reserved most of his ire for President Obama, and threw in a new criticism — that the president had failed to give troops returning from Iraq a parade.
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