TX High School Graduation Rates Among Highest in U.S.
New preliminary data released by the U.S. Department of Education shows that Texas — along with five other states — ranks fourth in the nation for its four-year high school graduation rates. With an overall rate of 86 percent in the 2010-11 school year, the state follows Iowa, with 88 percent, and Wisconsin and Vermont, both at 87 percent.
It’s the first time all states have used a common measure that the department developed in response to federal regulations passed in 2008.
The state's graduation rates also fared well compared to others across most student demographics. For African-American students ...
Comments (5)
Bill Betzen
Sadly this positive news story will be damaged by a measurement problem. It is true that the Texas Class of 2011, and probably the Class of 2012, will be found to have both achieved record setting graduation rates for Texas. That is true and a real reason for celebration. Texas had just completed a few years with positive teacher/student ratios due to stimulus monies spent in education and other positive staffing decisions. That all ended with the 2011 Legislative session.
Since 2011 Texas classrooms have lost tens of thousands of teachers and gained over a hundred thousand new students. The Deferred Deportation Program has had the very positive effect of encouraging students who had left school to return. If Texas had maintained the teacher/student ratios of 2010 we could truly be celebrating. Instead the negative images of the classrooms for these returning students are being reinforced too often. In the years to come the progress made in graduation rates will be lost unless this 2013 Legislative Session restores funding to public education so that the student/teacher ratios of 2010 can be restored. No matter what happens in the 2013 Legislative Session, here is a report card we can use to measure their success for the children of Texas: http://schoolarchiveproject.blogspot.com/2012/11/prior-to-2011-two-states-spent-less-per.html
Proud Texan
I wonder how Bill Hammond at TAB will try to twist this into another rant about how our schools are failing or how Peggy Venable will find a conspiracy in this report to prove the need for vouchers.
A tip of the hat to Texas public schools, teachers and students. Congratulations on a job well done.
hans5162@ix.netcom.com hans
Of course the State reports the schools do an excellent job when the State is in litigation over school financing. Rember the TAKS Projection measure that showed how much the schools had improved that was used immediately prior to Perry's last reelection. They ditched it as inaccurate right after the election. What this proves is that Dan Patrick's move for vouchers should not be passed when the schools are having such great success with the dropout problem.
Jim Baxa
A lower rate of funding for schools compared to the liberal states, yet better education rates! Money does not buy better education, parents are the answer (with less federal intrusion helping too).
Bill, Texas classrooms have not lost "tens of thousands of teachers." That was the liberal cry, but the numbers turned out to be far different. It just shows that liberals will say anything to get their way, even when it is not true. Just watch, Texas will continue to impress once the next round of numbers come out. Maybe then you will see that money cant buy education, and govt does a lousy job of educating.
foodax
No, there were not tens of thousands of teachers laid off, just a little more than 10,000...of course, that's just for the first year of budget cuts when districts did everything in their power to not lay off teachers. That number will probably increase as the cumulative effect of $5.4 billion in education cuts sets in. You can see the numbers in TEA's AEIS reports.