The Senate version of House Bill 5, which it approved Monday, still allows students to complete diplomas in specialized areas, or "endorsements." But it changes the courses required to graduate under those endorsements.

Some critics of Texas' largely subjective state teacher evaluations want them to include more emphasis on measures of student performance like standardized exams. But with support among lawmakers to scale back testing, those efforts have hit a roadblock.

More than 80,000 fifth-graders and 60,000 eighth-graders in the state are at risk of being held back this year because of poor performance on state standardized tests under a Texas law banning social promotion.

UPDATED: A measure taking aim at the firm that develops the state's standardized tests briefly stalled legislation reducing high-stakes exams for elementary and middle school students before it finally passed the Texas House on Tuesday.

As lawmakers work on charter school legislation, lobbyists better known for their work in other areas have been showing up regularly at education committee hearings.

Against the recommendation of school leaders and amid skepticism from some lawmakers, the Texas Education Agency will continue working toward a transition to a public school accountability ratings system with grades of A through F.

The procedures that led to the state's five-year, $468 million standardized testing contract with Pearson were the focus of a Senate panel's hearing Tuesday on legislation that would change how the state handles future agreements.

All but 10 percent of a nearly $1 billion state fund intended to assist the poor with utility payments would be rebated to electric customers under a measure that preliminarily passed the Texas Senate on Monday.

As the Texas Legislature looks to overhaul the state’s standardized testing program amid outcry from parents and school leaders, state lawmakers have focused their criticism on the company that develops the tests.

Democratic Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg's decision not to resign over her drunken driving conviction may have its roots in party politics; Republican Gov. Rick Perry would get to appoint her replacement. 

At a hearing Tuesday, Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, slammed national media coverage of the Legislature's effort to change high school diploma requirements and reduce high-stakes exams.

As Texas reconsiders whether all students should take algebra II to earn a high school diploma, it is bucking a national trend that it helped launch a decade ago toward more stringent math curriculum.

A significantly altered version of Senate Education Chairman Dan Patrick's legislation expanding the state's charter school system quickly passed out of the upper chamber Thursday afternoon.

State Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, at a Tuesday hearing delivered an impassioned plea in support of the tax credit scholarship plan that is a critical part of the school choice reform package he has pushed this session.

The political sentiment behind the House’s vote against private school vouchers last week is clear. But its particulars — including whether it would ban tax credit scholarships under consideration in the Senate — are less obvious.