As displeasure with Texas’ standardized testing regime mounts, all eyes are on a special panel the Legislature created to figure out whether to scrap the widely reviled STAAR exam.
Kiah Collier
Kiah Collier was a reporter for the ProPublica-Texas Tribune investigative initiative from 2020 through 2023. She previously worked at the Tribune as a reporter and associate editor, covering energy and the environment through the lens of state government and politics. Kiah has reported for numerous other publications across Texas since 2010, including the Austin American-Statesman and the Houston Chronicle. Her beats also have included government and politics, public education and business. Kiah’s work has been honored with numerous prizes, including a George Foster Peabody Award, a Gerald Loeb Award, the Knight-Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism, the National Edward R. Murrow Award for best investigation and the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award. A seventh-generation Texan, she grew up in the Austin area and graduated with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin with degrees in journalism and philosophy.
Posted in
Public Education
Foul Ups Prompt State to Scrap School Test Scores
Fifth and eighth graders who failed STAAR exams won’t be held back a grade or required to retest later this month, Education Commissioner Mike Morath announced.
Posted in
Public Education
Eanes District, Vendor at Odds Over Supposed Loss of State Exams
A high-performing West Austin school district says it was told the state’s new testing vendor misplaced some or all of the STAAR exams its 3rd through 8th graders took this spring. But New Jersey-based Educational Testing Service says that’s not true.
Posted in
Energy
Lawyers Say Ruling Bad For Landowners
A recent Texas Supreme Court ruling favoring a South Plains ranch was described by some as a major win for private property rights, but others painted it as more of a win for developers.
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Public Education
Straus Orders Texas House to Study School Finance
Citing a recent Texas Supreme Court decision that upheld the state’s public school funding system while deeming it “undeniably imperfect,” state House Speaker Joe Straus on Thursday ordered representatives to study the school finance system.
Posted in
Rough Patch
Despite Oil Bust, Midland is Still Bustling
Amid the worst oil bust in decades, the energy capital of West Texas hasn’t slowed down much.
Posted in
Energy
Conservative Appeals Court Hands Win to Texas Environmental Groups
Texas environmental groups have scored a major victory in a six-year legal battle with the world’s largest oil company.
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Energy
In Weighty Water Ruling, Texas’ High Court Backs Landowner
The Texas Supreme Court has strengthened protections for landowners who don’t have rights to the water underneath their property.
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Public Education
Post-Upset, Education Board Hopeful is Cautiously Optimistic
Keven Ellis could barely believe it when he learned he had won the GOP primary runoff against Mary Lou Bruner, who made national headlines for suggesting in Facebook posts that President Obama was once a gay prostitute.
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Public Education
Candidate Who Called Obama a Gay Prostitute Loses Primary Runoff
In a stunning comeback, State Board of Education candidate Keven Ellis won a Republican primary runoff over Mary Lou Bruner, who drew national attention for objectionable social media posts.
