How Would You Fare on the 2013 STAAR Tests?
We're making available for download all of the 2013 STAAR exams for grades three through eight, along with their answer keys, courtesy of the Texas Education Agency. Full Story
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Under New State Ratings, Most Schools Met Standards
Under a new accountability system, Texas schools are placed in two categories: "met standard" or "needs improvement." The state education agency announced Thursday that 93 percent of Texas school districts achieved the first designation. Full Story
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A New Perry vs. Doggett Education Money Fight?
Under a major new Obama administration initiative promoting early education, Texas is eligible for $308 million in federal money to fund full-day pre-kindergarten programs. But the money might never get here. Full Story
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![Pre-kindergarten students at the Dallas Independent School District's Cesar Chavez Learning Center.]()
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New Council to Focus on Extended Learning Programs at Schools
The state’s new Expanded Learning Opportunities Council will be charged with developing a statewide action plan to improve and create extended learning opportunities in public schools. This story is part of our monthlong 31 Days, 31 Ways series. Full Story
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![Students in Yvonne McDaniel's Reading English for Speakers of Other Languages, or ESOL, class participate in English-language exercises during summer school at McAllum High School in Austin, Texas, Jul. 31, 2013.]()
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High School Students Will Take Fewer State Tests
Under House Bill 5, students entering high school this fall will take 10 fewer state exams than their classmates two years ahead of them. This story is part of our month-long 31 Days, 31 Ways series. Full Story
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Easing Elementary, Middle School Testing Comes With Caveat
For parents and educators who want less classroom time spent on state exams, hopes rest on recently passed legislation, but it comes with a challenge: Texas likely must first obtain waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Full Story
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![Bayless Elementary teacher Holly Guillmen identifies and explains the use of the contents of the Waterwise home water conservation kit provided to students by the High Plains Underground Water District in Lubbock, Texas, Oct. 17, 2012.]()
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Dewhurst, Patrick Continue Push to End CSCOPE
An extended drama over a controversial curriculum tool used by Texas public schools took a new turn Wednesday as Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst entered the fray with a letter to the State Board of Education and Senate Education Chairman Dan Patrick pushed to add the issue to the special session agenda. Full Story
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Video: Roadway Study Leads to Effort to Save Bees
Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority analysts recently discovered a large beehive in a tree near Austin's airport. To protect the honeybees, whose population is declining worldwide, the mobility authority asked a local beekeeper for help. Full Story
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CSCOPE Changes Focus of Confusion at SBOE Meeting
UPDATED: The State Board of Education will take up the issue of whether school districts can continue to use lessons from a controversial state curriculum system at its September meeting. And the Texas Attorney General's office, along with Education Chairman Dan Patrick, has requested an official state audit of the program. Full Story
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![State Board of Education member-elect Thomas Ratliffe speaks to a special hearing on history in the Capitol Extension.]()
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State Auditor Finds Lacking Oversight of Testing Contract
After a report from the State Auditor's Office pointed out flaws in the Texas Education Agency's oversight of a $462 million testing contract, the agency said Tuesday it will "immediately" implement new monitoring guidelines. Full Story
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Districts Begin Preparing for New Guidelines on High School Diplomas
As educators welcome the coming changes in state testing requirements, some school districts are looking ahead at another part of recently passed education reform. The state is expanding the courses that will count toward a high school diploma. Full Story
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Newsreel: Polls, Schools and the End in Sight
This week in the Texas Weekly Newsreel: The end of the special session is in sight, the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune polls are out and a judge says new school finance litigation case will begin in January. Full Story
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Guest Column: What Really Happened With the State Budget
When a fellow senator voted against the state budget because certain programs weren't funded, he forgot to mention that he was directly responsible for those funding decisions. Full Story
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Re-examining High School's Senior Year to Benefit Pre-Kindergarten
With the help of a new law, the Dallas Independent School District is designing a program that will funnel money saved when students graduate early into expanding pre-kindergarten offerings. Full Story
![Pre-kindergarten students at the Dallas Independent School District's Cesar Chavez Learning Center.]()
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UT/TT Poll: Texans Split on Permissibility of Abortions in State
Texas voters favor banning abortions after 20 weeks of a pregnancy, but they remain split on the permissibility of abortions in the state, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
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Texas School Finance Trial Goes for Round Two
After hearing brief arguments on whether to reopen evidence in the school finance case because of laws passed during the legislative session, state district court Judge John Dietz announced Wednesday that a new, six-week trial will begin in January. Full Story
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![After a trial that lasted more than three months, Travis County District Court Judge John Dietz ruled in February 2014 that the state's school finance system is unconstitutional.]()
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Perry Issues More Than Two Dozen Vetoes
Gov. Rick Perry issued more than two dozen vetoes Friday, including a line-item veto that wipes out funding for the Travis County prosecutors who investigate government fraud and public corruption. He also vetoed a bill that would have had Texas law mirror gender wage protections in the federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. Full Story
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![The Texas Tribune Festival 2012 Opening Session: A Conversation with Gov. Rick Perry and Evan Smith, Sept. 21, 2012.]()
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"Merry Christmas" Officially Okay in Texas Public Schools
Flanked by high school cheerleaders, a rabbi and an off-duty Santa, Gov. Rick Perry ceremonially signed legislation Thursday clarifying that school districts can acknowledge traditional winter celebrations. Full Story
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![Gov. Rick Perry signs House Bill 308 which allows public school students and staff to use traditional holiday greetings and display religious symbols on school property. He was joined by bill author Rep. Dwayne Bohac R-Houston, Bahac's son Reagan, Sen. Robert Nichols as well as several Santa's, Rabbi Zev Johnson and cheerleaders from Kountze High School - June 13, 2013.]()
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Kent Grusendorf: The TT Interview
The former House public education chairman on the politics of education policy in Texas, what's next in the school finance trial and why he doesn't like the word "voucher." Full Story
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Some High School Students Off Hook on Failed State Exams
High school students won't have to retake standardized exams they failed in the six subjects that newly signed House Bill 5 eliminates from the state's testing requirements, the Texas Education Agency announced Wednesday. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
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