According to the latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), students in the U.S. and around the world are generally improving in math and science.
Alex Samuels
Alex Samuels was a reporter for The Texas Tribune from 2017 to 2021. She helped with national campaign coverage, wrote stories about the intersection of race and politics in Texas, and covered the hottest political news bubbling out of local communities. She was also one of the primary authors of The Blast, the Tribune’s subscription-only daily newsletter for political insiders. Alex began at the Tribune as a fellow in 2016. She graduated in 2017 from the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Journalism. She originally is from Massachusetts and is the best pingpong player at the Tribune.
Posted inState Government
Chicago public schools announce capital spending plan
Chicago Public Schools district released a supplemental budget for a slate of proposed projects that raises capital spending for the fiscal year to $938 million.
Posted inState Government
The Brief: Texas could lose billions over anti-LGBT bills, businesses say
According to a report by the Texas Association of Business, economic fallout in Texas would mostly come from loss of tourism and events.
Posted inState Government
The Brief: Demand for undocumented labor, drugs rampant across country
Although the Texas Legislature spent nearly $800 million on a border security apparatus, the demand for cheap labor and illegal drugs continues to spread.
Posted inState Government
The Brief: Texas cities facing massive pension shortfalls
A new report from the credit rating and financial analysis firm Moody’s identified Texas’s four largest cities as collectively facing $22.6 billion worth of pension fund shortfalls.
Posted inState Government
The Brief: Lawmakers brace for tight-fisted legislative session
During a Legislative Budget Board meeting Thursday, lawmakers set the state’s growth rate at 8 percent — nearly 4 percent lower than the threshold set two years ago.
Posted inState Government
The Brief: TEA will tour Texas following special ed investigation
The announcement comes after the Houston Chronicle revealed the Texas Education Agency had been keeping the special education rate at 8.5 percent, the lowest of any state in the country.
Posted inState Government
The Brief: Straus lays out legislative agenda
During an interview Tuesday, House Speaker Joe Straus said one of his concerns for the upcoming legislative session is for lawmakers to restore funding for disabled children’s in-home therapy services.
Posted inState Government
The Q&A: Vanessa Puig Williams
In this week’s Q&A, we interview Vanessa Puig Williams, author of a new article published this week in Texas Water Journal on portions of the state that don’t regulate groundwater.
Posted inState Government
The Brief: Texan may have fueled Trump’s unsupported voter fraud claim
President-elect Donald Trump tweeted — without evidence — that “millions” of people voted illegally in the November election. And his controversial comments are garnering the attention of many Texans.