Aycock Unveils Website to Talk School Accountability
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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State Business Group Joining School Finance Lawsuit
The Texas Association of Business announced today that it has joined a school finance lawsuit against the state, demanding a study of school system efficiency. Full Story
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Interactive: How Much Do Superintendents Make?
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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TribLive: A Conversation with Eissler and Hochberg
Full video of my April 26 TribLive conversation with state Rep. Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, and state Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston — the chair and vice chair, respectively, of the House Public Education Committee. Full Story
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TribLive: Eissler and Hochberg on Per-Student Spending
At this morning's TribLive conversation, House Public Education Committee Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, and Vice Chairman Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, disagreed over the theoretical correlation between per-student spending and academic performance. Full Story
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Video: Is State System Helping Failing Districts?
In conjunction with Morgan Smith's "Death of a District" series, the Tribune presents a special video report on the role of accountability and whether the state's current standards are helping or hurting failing districts in Texas. Full Story
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Six Years After District is Closed, Signs of Rebirth
Plagued by financial and academic troubles, Wilmer-Hutchins ISD was closed six years ago. Now, the area appears to be on the verge of academic transformation, with three new Dallas ISD campuses. Full Story
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District Still Has Work to Do After Cutting Sports
Premont ISD in South Texas has made drastic moves to improve its finances — including cutting high school sports. But critics fault the state's accountability and school finance systems, which they say punish districts that serve largely low-income populations. Full Story
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TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
The first two parts of M. Smith's series on failing school districts (plus Murphy and Seger's interactive on how districts' characteristics relate to ratings), Root on lagging GOP candidates for president trying to shore things up in Texas, Ramshaw on a "fiscal switcheroo" to get federal money for women's health programs, Galbraith talks to a West Texas farmer about crop insurance and climate change and Aguilar on the money behind a lawsuit on long rifle sales: The best of our best content from April 2 to 6, 2012. Full Story
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North Forest Lives On, But So Do Its Struggles
North Forest ISD has gotten what amounts to a stay of execution. But the question of whether students would be better off attending different schools still lingers. Full Story
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Weekend Insider: Workers Comp, Houston School Closure
Wal-Mart looks to provide a cheaper alternative to workers compensation for their employees, and a Houston school district struggles with the possibility of closure. Full Story
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Texas School District Closures Are Rare, But Should They Be?
There's little research that indicates closing districts will improve outcomes for students, but letting chronically low-performing and financially mismanaged schools stay open doesn't work either. Full Story
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Citing Resources, Several Districts Steer Clear of School Funding Suits
Already facing budget cuts, almost half of the school districts in Texas haven't signed on to one of the five school finance lawsuits filed against the sate. Full Story
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Slideshow: Save Our Schools Rally at Texas Capitol
Hundreds of educators, lawmakers and parents descended on the Capitol Saturday to protest cuts to public education. Here are some images from the scene. Full Story
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Who Will Lead the Senate Education Committee?
Sen. Florence Shapiro’s departure means the end of a nearly two-decade-long tenure in the state Senate — and an opening in the top position on the Senate Education Committee for the first time since 2003. Full Story
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Districts Take Advantage of STAAR Rule Change
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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Schools Cope as Classes Expand and Staffs Shrink
As state spending contracted in the 2011-12 school year, classroom sizes ballooned. And the fastest-growing school districts have been hit the hardest by larger classes. Full Story
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Weekend Insider: Class Sizes, Groundwater Limits
In this episode of the Texas Tribune Weekend Insider, we look at growing elementary class sizes and limits on groundwater use in West Texas. Full Story
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Video: Arne Duncan Town Hall Meeting
Full video of Thursday's town hall meeting with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on the campus of Austin Community College. Full Story
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At Public Universities, Graduation Rates Lag. But Do They Matter?
The four-year graduation rates at Texas' public universities are staggeringly low. State officials acknowledge the numbers are dismal and are working to improve them. But not all higher ed leaders buy into the notion that such metrics matter. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Spencer Selvidge / Ben Hasson / Todd Wiseman