The latest Texas Education Agency news from The Texas Tribune.
A new state requirement that students must retake standardized tests if they do not achieve a minimum score has landed hundreds of thousands in summer school, carrying a hefty price tag for school districts. Full Story
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In initial results from the new State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, just more than half of students working on a ninth-grade level met the passing standards for writing, while 87 percent passed biology. Full Story
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E. Smith interviews Dan Patrick about John Carona, Root on the race to replace Ron Paul, Batheja on a nest of open House seats in Tarrant County, Aguilar on a border brawl over a congressional seat in El Paso, Tan on the fight over Planned Parenthood in West Texas, Aaronson maps the holes in the state's health care provider network, M. Smith on who might be the next Texas education commissioner, Ramshaw on social media sabotage, Hamilton and Ramshaw on the reaction to news of job insecurity for UT-Austin's president and Grissom on a knickers-twisting historical marker: The best of our best content from May 7 to 11, 2012. Full Story
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With the state government tightening its belt, there are now 10,200 fewer state government employees, according to our latest analysis of data collected by the state auditor’s office. Full Story
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State Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock, R-Killeen, is launching a website to try to kickstart discussion on what will surely be a hot topic in the next legislative session: school accountability. Full Story
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Education Commissioner Robert Scott's successor will have his or her hands full. The job requires a delicate balancing act in regard to state officials and school administrators. So who could get Gov. Rick Perry's nod for the post? Full Story
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Aguilar on the House District 77 primary, Batheja on the HD-101 and SD-9 primaries, Galbraith on the GOP candidates for two Railroad Commission slots, Grissom on the latest in the Kerry Max Cook case, Hamilton on Texas A&M's new accountability website, Murphy and M. Smith on how much superintendents make, Ramsey interviews a would-be Democratic Party chair, Root on that nice Ted Nugent, M. Smith on the resignation of the state's education commissioner and Tan on the continuing court fight over Planned Parenthood: The best of our best content from April 30 to May 4, 2012. Full Story
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On this week's podcast, Ross, Emily, Morgan and Ben weigh the recent resignation of Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott and the back-and-forth court rulings on Planned Parenthood and the Women's Health Program. Full Story
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During the 2011 legislative session, we compiled a salary database of all the state’s highest-paid school administrators: superintendents. After a year and a $5.4 billion reduction in state funding to public education, we are doing it again. Full Story
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Texas Education Agency Commissioner Robert Scott is leaving the post Gov. Rick Perry appointed him to in 2007. Full Story
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At this morning's TribLive conversation, House Public Education Committee Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, and Vice Chairman Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, talked about the emphasis on testing in Texas schools. Full Story
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School districts are taking advantage of the Texas Education Agency's decision to waive the requirement that STAAR exams count for 15 percent of students' grades for the 2011-12 school year. Full Story
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Public schools in Texas employ about 25,000 less employees than they did at this time last year. Use this interactive to see what happened in your school district. Full Story
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On this week's TribCast, Ben, Ross, Emily and Morgan discuss redistricting, public school accountability testing and the controversy involving Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Planned Parenthood. Full Story
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. Full Story
The TEA has released new guidelines that set tough thresholds for school districts hoping to take advantage of special legal exemptions passed by the Legislature and intended to help schools cope with significant budget cuts. Full Story
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Proposition 6 on the Texas constitutional ballot would allow the land commissioner to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars to public education. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports that the measure has seen little opposition. Full Story
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Every time a student drops out of public school, taxpayers save money. That’s one fewer student, at an annual savings of more than $11,000 per year from state and local sources. Full Story
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As the popularity of online learning grows, public schools are grappling with how to most effectively integrate it into their classrooms — and some in the education community worry about the increasing influence of for-profit companies. Full Story
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The lawsuits over public education funding that are currently taking shape will be the latest in a long history of court intervention in Texas' school finance system. But how much can the judiciary do to fix it? Full Story
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