Tag Archives: Texas Education Agency

TEA Commissioner Scott defends Texas Projection Measure

Posted on July 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Education Agency Commissioner Robert Scott takes advantage of a friendly audience to lash out at critics of the Texas Projection Measure. Scott, speaking to the State Board of Education, said the so-called Texas Projection Measure has been misunderstood and … Continue reading →

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Nightly News Update: Monday Edition

Posted on July 12, 2010 by Greg Wythe

More up-to-date linkage while Kuff sings Kumbaya in the wood goes on a snipe hunt. » Chron: Kids’ failure is adult’s ‘success’ (Rick Casey) Maybe it’s just me, but the immediacy of this column seems a bit like an afterthought … Continue reading →

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Bad projections

Posted on July 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Just go read this Trib story about how the Texas Education Agency’s Texas Projection Measure, which purports to measure student academic growth as a way to evaluate school districts, is basically a load of hooey. It was the subject of … Continue reading →

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Who wants to answer for Rick Perry’s policies?

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

There was a hearing of the House Public Education Committee yesterday to discuss the Texas Education Agency’s controversial methodology for rating school districts, but the person responsible for that metric declined to show up to explain it. Rep. Scott Hochberg, … Continue reading →

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Some cows are more sacred than others

Posted on May 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

To quote Mel Brooks, it’s good to be the king. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst will not be denied his steroid testing money. The Texas Education Agency had included the $1 million cost of the steroid program among its $135.5 million … Continue reading →

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And the clown show gets underway again

Posted on May 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s your TFN liveblogging of today’s SBOE social studies hearings. Brian Thevenot of The Trib is also there, and he reports that an interesting character has asked the Board to slow down. Former U.S. Secretary of Education and Houston Superintendent … Continue reading →

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Our Hispanic schools

Posted on May 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Take a look at the future. If you want to see how profoundly the state’s population is changing, look at the faces of the children in Texas public school classrooms. In all but rural areas, Hispanic enrollment is rapidly surpassing … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo, The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Who’s homeschooling?

Posted on May 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Are there a lot more home-schooled high school students, or are they just conveniently mislabeled dropouts? You decide. More than 22,620 Texas secondary students who stopped showing up for class in 2008 were excluded from the state’s dropout statistics because … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit over grading policies

Posted on April 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

A number of school districts, mostly in the Houston area, have a policy of not giving kids a grade lower than 50 in any grading period. The idea is that by setting a floor on grades, it gives kids the … Continue reading →

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Who’s using electronic textbooks?

Posted on April 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

According to this DMN story, the electronic textbook revolution hasn’t exactly taken hold just yet, at least not in the Metroplex. The [Texas Education Agency] has budgeted more than $800 million for textbooks in 2010-11, but it’s not clear how … Continue reading →

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The Texas Partnership for Children in Nature

Posted on April 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The National Wildlife Federation was in town this weekend for a summit to advance a national policy agenda to connect children with the outdoors. Basically, kids spend a lot less time outside these days, and there are measurable effects of … Continue reading →

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White and Perry argue about the dropout rate; White wins

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

See for yourself. The major-party candidates for governor on Tuesday waded into one of the oldest and hottest debates in public education — what’s the real high school drop-out rate? — producing the kind of fireworks that suggest the state … Continue reading →

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No race to the top

Posted on January 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

By now you’ve probably heard the news that Governor Perry has directed the Texas to not compete for “Race to the Top” stimulus funds. Gov. Rick Perry said today that Texas will not compete for up to $700 million in … Continue reading →

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Chris Comer appeals lawsuit dismissal

Posted on August 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I had lost track of Chris Comer, the former director of science curriculum for the Texas Education Agency, who resigned under pressure for sending out email regarding a lecture that debunked “intelligent design” since she filed a wrongful termination lawsuit … Continue reading →

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As goes Cy-Fair, so goes Texas

Posted on July 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Earlier this month, I noted that the Cy-Fair ISD was considering the repeal of an optional homestead exemption so it could pay for salaries and services it needed for the schools. They backed off after residents protested, choosing instead of … Continue reading →

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Stimulus for the schools

Posted on February 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Texas’ public schools are set to get some much needed stimulus money. Texas school districts can expect a jolt of more than $3 billion over two years under the $787 billion package ushered in by President Barack Obama’s administration. Under … Continue reading →

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