Wow, pretty sad that investing more money in education is seen as a compromise. It should also be made clear that the end-of-course exams ARE standardized tests and that nearly a decade of results reveal that minority youth fare poorly on them even though they do well and pass the respective courses for which they are tested on. Finally, those same exams were NEVER developed to measure college readiness though they will be used as an indicator.
-Patricia
Brinkmanship on transportation brings up new threat in Austin
By R.G. RATCLIFFE and JANET ELLIOTT AUSTIN BUREAU
May 31, 2009, 11:52PM
AUSTIN — State lawmakers on Sunday approved a windstorm insurance reform measure — eliminating the need for a special session — but legislative brinksmanship on transportation and insurance created new threats that such a session will be necessary.
The Texas Legislature adjourns Monday night.
Expansion of the health insurance program for low-income children almost certainly is dead after House opponents blocked debate on the measure until one minute before a midnight deadline. The bill has been killed and resurrected three times in the past two weeks.
The House and Senate did send Gov. Rick Perry a compromise bill that revises the public school accountability system. It would lessen the importance of standardized testing, and use end-of-course exams in high school to measure college readiness. The House also approved a compromise to spend an additional $1.9 billion on public schools over the next two years.
Legislation to promote seven Texas universities as emerging research institutions — including UT-San Antonio and the University of Houston — was temporarily derailed by Corpus Christi lawmakers before receiving House approval. The research university package includes $150 million in bonding authority for construction of the Jennie Sealy surgical and bed tower at UTMB in Galveston. A state spending bill includes another $150 million for the project.
While a state senator threatened to filibuster to death a bill reorganizing the Texas Department of Transportation because it did not contain a local option gas tax increase for regional road construction, a House member who wanted the same used a House rule to delay the bill to an almost certain death on a midnight deadline.
Negotiators reached an agreement on reforming the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association.
The association provides windstorm insurance in 14 coastal counties and part of Harris County where private insurers refuse to provide the insurance as part of a home- owner’s policy.
But Hurricanes Ike and Dolly wiped out the insurance pool last year with more than $2 billion in expected claims, and private insurers were worried about the potential of unlimited assessments against them to keep the windstorm pool alive if there was another major storm this year.
The agreement essentially would cover excessive claims through short-term loans from the state and long-term bonds to be paid for by windstorm premiums.
“There are no rate increases coming to the coast because of this,” said Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, the Senate sponsor.
Both the transportation bill and the expansion of the Children’s Health Insurance Program were falling victim to opposition from the right wing of the Republican Party.
The Texas Republican Party, the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Americans for Prosperity and the Texas Eagle Forum worked successfully to kill a portion of a transportation bill that would have allowed county governments to hold elections to raise gas taxes by 10 cents a gallon for local projects.
Anger over the removal of the gas tax from the TxDOT reauthorization led to threats of a filibuster by Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Chairman John Carona, R-Dallas.
The local-option gas tax was supported by officials from North Texas and San Antonio, but had significant opposition from Houston-area lawmakers and rural legislators.
“I’m 250 pounds; I’ve got a lot of energy and I feel very passionate about this,” Carona said.
Rep. Vicki Truitt, R-Keller, the original sponsor of the local option proposal, said the groups distorted her proposal into looking like a tax increase even though it would require the approval of local voters.
She said the opposition groups made it impossible for many Republicans to consider voting for the proposal.
“It’s all about the primary,” Truitt said, adding, “You have a senator with a radio program who’s hammering the Houston folks daily.”
Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, who owns KSEV-AM (700) in Houston, said he has spoken against the measure in the past, but not in at least two weeks. Patrick said he opposes the local option because he believes in a statewide solution to transportation.
“Let’s say that Montgomery County doesn’t vote to increase tax by 10 cents and Harris County does, and you have a convenience store one mile apart on each side of the line. You’ll put one store out of business,” Patrick said. “They’ll drive a mile to save 10 cents a gallon. That’s a lot of money.”
The bill to expand eligibility for the Children’s Health Insurance Program from 200 percent of the federal poverty level to 300 percent had died twice in this session.
Showing posts with label 81st Lege. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 81st Lege. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
House moves to scale back top 10 percent rule
The politics surrounding this issue is really worth checking out. Here's the link to the video stream.
-Patricia
By JAY ROOT Associated Press Writer © 2009 The Associated Press
May 25, 2009
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas House passed legislation Monday that would scale back the automatic college admissions policy for students who graduate in the top 10 percent of their high school class.
Under the compromise bill, approved on a 121-24 vote, universities could cap the number of Texas students admitted under the program to 75 percent of the entering resident freshman class. The bill would take effect in 2011, affecting students who are high school sophomores this year.
The reforms would expire after six years, giving the Legislature time to judge the impact and either continue the policy or make changes. The legislation also would limit the number of nonresident students to 10 percent of the student body at universities where the cap has taken effect.
The measure is of particular interest to the University of Texas at Austin, where more than 80 percent of the home-state freshman class are admitted under the rule. The school has been pushing the Legislature to allow it to start cutting back on such automatic admissions.
The top 10 percent law was adopted a decade ago after a federal appeals court decision made affirmative action illegal in Texas college admissions. In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed universities to use race as one of many decision-making factors.
Efforts to change the policy, or place a cap on the number of students being admitted under it, have fallen apart in past legislative sessions. Opponents of modifying the rule say the law has improved ethnic and geographic diversity at major universities over the past decade.
But UT Austin is on the verge of an admissions crisis, and legislators have heard their cries.
In a passion-filled speech, Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, called on UT and other schools to do a better job of attracting qualified minority students but said he wanted to give them more discretion in their admissions process.
"The ball is now in UT's court," Turner said. "I hope they're prepared to run with it on the academic field."
Proponents of the reforms say the top 10 percent law has caused a "brain drain" at UT, prompting exceptional students who fall just outside its parameters to go elsewhere.
"This is about fixing an imbalance," said Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, author of the legislation. "What starts here will change UT and I think will improve the University of Texas."
The bill would still give automatic admission to top high school achievers. But it would cap the number universities have to admit. A different version of the legislation passed the Senate in March, so there are still plenty of hurdles to overcome before the bill can become law.
The moves to modify the law has been met with skepticism by some minority groups, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Rep. Roberto Alonzo, D-Dallas, spoke out against the legislation. He said Texas universities are not working hard enough to reach out to kids who qualify now under the top 10 percent law now, and he cautioned against changing it.
"The problem is the implementation of the laws," he said. "We have laws and we can trust and pray but we've got to implement the laws."
-Patricia
By JAY ROOT Associated Press Writer © 2009 The Associated Press
May 25, 2009
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas House passed legislation Monday that would scale back the automatic college admissions policy for students who graduate in the top 10 percent of their high school class.
Under the compromise bill, approved on a 121-24 vote, universities could cap the number of Texas students admitted under the program to 75 percent of the entering resident freshman class. The bill would take effect in 2011, affecting students who are high school sophomores this year.
The reforms would expire after six years, giving the Legislature time to judge the impact and either continue the policy or make changes. The legislation also would limit the number of nonresident students to 10 percent of the student body at universities where the cap has taken effect.
The measure is of particular interest to the University of Texas at Austin, where more than 80 percent of the home-state freshman class are admitted under the rule. The school has been pushing the Legislature to allow it to start cutting back on such automatic admissions.
The top 10 percent law was adopted a decade ago after a federal appeals court decision made affirmative action illegal in Texas college admissions. In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed universities to use race as one of many decision-making factors.
Efforts to change the policy, or place a cap on the number of students being admitted under it, have fallen apart in past legislative sessions. Opponents of modifying the rule say the law has improved ethnic and geographic diversity at major universities over the past decade.
But UT Austin is on the verge of an admissions crisis, and legislators have heard their cries.
In a passion-filled speech, Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, called on UT and other schools to do a better job of attracting qualified minority students but said he wanted to give them more discretion in their admissions process.
"The ball is now in UT's court," Turner said. "I hope they're prepared to run with it on the academic field."
Proponents of the reforms say the top 10 percent law has caused a "brain drain" at UT, prompting exceptional students who fall just outside its parameters to go elsewhere.
"This is about fixing an imbalance," said Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, author of the legislation. "What starts here will change UT and I think will improve the University of Texas."
The bill would still give automatic admission to top high school achievers. But it would cap the number universities have to admit. A different version of the legislation passed the Senate in March, so there are still plenty of hurdles to overcome before the bill can become law.
The moves to modify the law has been met with skepticism by some minority groups, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Rep. Roberto Alonzo, D-Dallas, spoke out against the legislation. He said Texas universities are not working hard enough to reach out to kids who qualify now under the top 10 percent law now, and he cautioned against changing it.
"The problem is the implementation of the laws," he said. "We have laws and we can trust and pray but we've got to implement the laws."
Friday, April 24, 2009
Accountability bill clears committee; emphasizes college readiness; ends high-stakes testing
This post was written by by Abby Rapoport, Texas Monthly intern–PB
HB 3, Rob Eissler’s school accountability bill, passed out of committee with only one “no” vote—no easy feat given the opposition he faced from many school groups and minority lawmakers when he laid out the bill a month ago. The bill addresses what Eissler calls, “the three Rs—rigor, relevance and relationships.”
Ultimately, the bill pushes Texas to become one of the top ten states in achieving post-secondary readiness. It requires districts to increase the number of students meeting college readiness standards–not just passing standards–and follows students during their college years to see if readiness standards are sufficient to assure college success. The education commissioner determines the specifics of the standards, but the trend toward post-secondary readiness is clear. It offers three high school diploma plans—advanced, recommended, and minimum. Regarding the recommended plan, the bill maintains the current 4 by 4 structure (English, math, science, and social studies requirements for four years of high school), as well as requiring two years of a language. Additionally, it allows students to take eight undefined electives within the recommended plan. (Currently the SBOE defines such electives.) Students on the minimum plan will still have defined electives. However, math and science is only mandated through Algebra II and Physics. The new curriculum also emphasizes Career and Technical and applied classes and allows them to be used in the 4 by 4 plan.
The curriculum also gets rid of the unpopular rule that 65 percent of educational expenditures must go to the classroom, which made it difficult to fund other parts of school budgets like cafeterias and school buses.
The bill has been a clear priority for the Public Education chairman since the beginning of the session; he spent much of the committee’s first meeting explaining goals the bill contains. He outlined his plan to move away from high stakes testing focusing on minimum performance. “We’re gonna get out of that game,” Eissler said then. At the time, he particularly emphasized that campuses would earn distinction for achievement in specific areas, like closing gaps, 21st Century Workforce Development, fine arts, and physical education (among others).
But when the actual bill surfaced in committee, several members of the Black Caucus—Dutton, Olivo, Allen and Mallory-Caraway (who is not a committee member) all voiced deep concerns, mostly centering on whether the three diplomas constituted tracking. All four members worried that at-risk students, and minority students in particular, would be herded into the minimum program. “Every time we fix something, it’s the students at the bottom who somehow don’t get fixed,” said Dutton. “[The bill] places them not only out of mind but out of sight.”
Now Dutton has signed on as a co-author. The turn-around comes after meetings between Eissler and the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus and the Black Caucus. The committee substitute stipulates that all students will be in the recommended track, and they can only opt out if they are over 16, have finished tenth grade (although they don’t need to pass), and have a parent’s permission. To prevent forgeries, the bill also requires schools send out information to parents in both English and Spanish about the advantages of the recommended program. The education commissioner is directed to investigate schools graduating a disproportionate number of students on minimum plan.
Although the bill maintains a testing system, it offers flexibility for struggling schools. Student improvement counts towards the passing and college readiness standards, and schools would be recognized for improvement in completion rates. Schools be judged either by a three-year rolling average or by the current year’s performance. Schools making progress would get an extra year before reconstitution or closure to fix problems. After reconstitution, campuses would also get an additional year to meet standards. Additionally, the bill allows repurposing a school as an alternative to closure and prohibits the commissioner from requiring schools to change names.
Amendments continue to come forward, and yesterday Diane Patrick and Alma Allen both stated their intentions to continue tweaking elements of the bill. In particular, Allen focused on how to count drop-outs to avoid duplication. Olivo, the only no vote on the committee, argued that in allowing schools to offer unique electives, the bill reversed “the decade long commitment to have a statewide curriculum.” However, she pointed to parts she liked—particularly the addition of parental involvement in opting out of the recommended program.
Eissler remains adamant that the bill never did track students. “It was never there,” he said. “Now we’re making sure that it can’t be there.”
Shapiro’s version of the bill remains in committee.
HB 3, Rob Eissler’s school accountability bill, passed out of committee with only one “no” vote—no easy feat given the opposition he faced from many school groups and minority lawmakers when he laid out the bill a month ago. The bill addresses what Eissler calls, “the three Rs—rigor, relevance and relationships.”
Ultimately, the bill pushes Texas to become one of the top ten states in achieving post-secondary readiness. It requires districts to increase the number of students meeting college readiness standards–not just passing standards–and follows students during their college years to see if readiness standards are sufficient to assure college success. The education commissioner determines the specifics of the standards, but the trend toward post-secondary readiness is clear. It offers three high school diploma plans—advanced, recommended, and minimum. Regarding the recommended plan, the bill maintains the current 4 by 4 structure (English, math, science, and social studies requirements for four years of high school), as well as requiring two years of a language. Additionally, it allows students to take eight undefined electives within the recommended plan. (Currently the SBOE defines such electives.) Students on the minimum plan will still have defined electives. However, math and science is only mandated through Algebra II and Physics. The new curriculum also emphasizes Career and Technical and applied classes and allows them to be used in the 4 by 4 plan.
The curriculum also gets rid of the unpopular rule that 65 percent of educational expenditures must go to the classroom, which made it difficult to fund other parts of school budgets like cafeterias and school buses.
The bill has been a clear priority for the Public Education chairman since the beginning of the session; he spent much of the committee’s first meeting explaining goals the bill contains. He outlined his plan to move away from high stakes testing focusing on minimum performance. “We’re gonna get out of that game,” Eissler said then. At the time, he particularly emphasized that campuses would earn distinction for achievement in specific areas, like closing gaps, 21st Century Workforce Development, fine arts, and physical education (among others).
But when the actual bill surfaced in committee, several members of the Black Caucus—Dutton, Olivo, Allen and Mallory-Caraway (who is not a committee member) all voiced deep concerns, mostly centering on whether the three diplomas constituted tracking. All four members worried that at-risk students, and minority students in particular, would be herded into the minimum program. “Every time we fix something, it’s the students at the bottom who somehow don’t get fixed,” said Dutton. “[The bill] places them not only out of mind but out of sight.”
Now Dutton has signed on as a co-author. The turn-around comes after meetings between Eissler and the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus and the Black Caucus. The committee substitute stipulates that all students will be in the recommended track, and they can only opt out if they are over 16, have finished tenth grade (although they don’t need to pass), and have a parent’s permission. To prevent forgeries, the bill also requires schools send out information to parents in both English and Spanish about the advantages of the recommended program. The education commissioner is directed to investigate schools graduating a disproportionate number of students on minimum plan.
Although the bill maintains a testing system, it offers flexibility for struggling schools. Student improvement counts towards the passing and college readiness standards, and schools would be recognized for improvement in completion rates. Schools be judged either by a three-year rolling average or by the current year’s performance. Schools making progress would get an extra year before reconstitution or closure to fix problems. After reconstitution, campuses would also get an additional year to meet standards. Additionally, the bill allows repurposing a school as an alternative to closure and prohibits the commissioner from requiring schools to change names.
Amendments continue to come forward, and yesterday Diane Patrick and Alma Allen both stated their intentions to continue tweaking elements of the bill. In particular, Allen focused on how to count drop-outs to avoid duplication. Olivo, the only no vote on the committee, argued that in allowing schools to offer unique electives, the bill reversed “the decade long commitment to have a statewide curriculum.” However, she pointed to parts she liked—particularly the addition of parental involvement in opting out of the recommended program.
Eissler remains adamant that the bill never did track students. “It was never there,” he said. “Now we’re making sure that it can’t be there.”
Shapiro’s version of the bill remains in committee.
Monday, April 20, 2009
A fair shake
Texas’ economic future depends on giving Hispanic students a better education
Houston Chronicle
April 10, 2009
The good news for Texas is that more Hispanic students are attending college than ever before. The bad news is that they lag behind all other ethnic student groups in several important areas, and there are few indications that the situation will improve anytime soon.
As reported by the Chronicle’s Jeannie Kever, when compared with other ethnic groups, fewer Hispanic students graduate from high school in four years and fewer of them enroll in college or a technical training program.
A state plan, Closing the Gaps, was created in 2000, with a goal of raising overall Texas college enrollment rates, which then stood at 5 percent of the population, to the national average of 5.7 percent by 2015. The state’s overall enrollment now stands at 5.3 percent. The rate for Hispanics has increased from 3.7 to 3.9 percent.
That’s not good enough, said Raymund Paredes, higher education commissioner for Texas. He told Kever that with such numbers, the state cannot develop a well-educated workforce. “The Hispanic community is key to the economic future of Texas,” he said.
He’s right: In Texas, and particularly Houston, Hispanics are by far the fastest-growing ethnic group, making up more than 40 percent of the city’s total population, and projected to become a majority by 2030.
Individual universities and colleges have set their own goals, with programs to help Hispanic students enroll in college and earn degrees, but results are mixed. A 2008 report from Texas’ Higher Education Coordinating Board said the state was “somewhat above target” in raising the enrollment of white and black students, but “well below target” with Hispanic students.
The state, which should be at the forefront of the effort, is not only dragging its feet, but is actively opposing measures to level the playing field for Hispanic students, especially those classified as LEP — with limited English proficiency. Not only has the Texas Legislature defunded many areas of public education in recent years — cutting per-student funding by about 20 percent for university students and 35 percent for community college students between 2002 and 2007, as per state comptroller Susan Combs — it is still neglecting to offer measures to provide better programs to LEP students.
The state has appealed a 2008 federal district court ruling that it address those students’ needs, the latest in a series of similar rulings since 1981. The recent ruling, to be reviewed in June, pointed out that Texas high schools and middle schools are losing primarily Spanish-speaking students at twice the rate of other students.
“I don’t think our educational system meets the goals of Hispanic students,” said State Rep. Jessica Farrar, a Democrat whose Houston district is heavily Hispanic. “The most fundamental issue is funding. It comes down to the dollars,” she told the Chronicle. “You have to hire talent to teach.”
Texas, with the sixth-largest student population in the nation, ranks 33rd in teacher salaries.
Fortunately, thanks mainly to federal stimulus funds, the new state budget, which the Legislature is preparing to vote on, looks to provide a welcome boost to public education funding.
Among other increases, the House is proposing that $224 million be added to the base amount of $428 million for the Texas Grants college tuition program, and that $25 million be added to the Texas Opportunity Grant program for older students and those in community colleges.
But more funds need to be channeled to the needs of the state’s Hispanic students, and the Legislature should be addressing those needs directly, not by reacting to lawsuits.
Time is fast running out: The Texas State Data Center projects that by 2030 — the same year that Hispanics are predicted to become a majority in Texas — the state’s average household incomes will have dropped $3,000 unless more people complete a college degree.
Houston Chronicle
April 10, 2009
The good news for Texas is that more Hispanic students are attending college than ever before. The bad news is that they lag behind all other ethnic student groups in several important areas, and there are few indications that the situation will improve anytime soon.
As reported by the Chronicle’s Jeannie Kever, when compared with other ethnic groups, fewer Hispanic students graduate from high school in four years and fewer of them enroll in college or a technical training program.
A state plan, Closing the Gaps, was created in 2000, with a goal of raising overall Texas college enrollment rates, which then stood at 5 percent of the population, to the national average of 5.7 percent by 2015. The state’s overall enrollment now stands at 5.3 percent. The rate for Hispanics has increased from 3.7 to 3.9 percent.
That’s not good enough, said Raymund Paredes, higher education commissioner for Texas. He told Kever that with such numbers, the state cannot develop a well-educated workforce. “The Hispanic community is key to the economic future of Texas,” he said.
He’s right: In Texas, and particularly Houston, Hispanics are by far the fastest-growing ethnic group, making up more than 40 percent of the city’s total population, and projected to become a majority by 2030.
Individual universities and colleges have set their own goals, with programs to help Hispanic students enroll in college and earn degrees, but results are mixed. A 2008 report from Texas’ Higher Education Coordinating Board said the state was “somewhat above target” in raising the enrollment of white and black students, but “well below target” with Hispanic students.
The state, which should be at the forefront of the effort, is not only dragging its feet, but is actively opposing measures to level the playing field for Hispanic students, especially those classified as LEP — with limited English proficiency. Not only has the Texas Legislature defunded many areas of public education in recent years — cutting per-student funding by about 20 percent for university students and 35 percent for community college students between 2002 and 2007, as per state comptroller Susan Combs — it is still neglecting to offer measures to provide better programs to LEP students.
The state has appealed a 2008 federal district court ruling that it address those students’ needs, the latest in a series of similar rulings since 1981. The recent ruling, to be reviewed in June, pointed out that Texas high schools and middle schools are losing primarily Spanish-speaking students at twice the rate of other students.
“I don’t think our educational system meets the goals of Hispanic students,” said State Rep. Jessica Farrar, a Democrat whose Houston district is heavily Hispanic. “The most fundamental issue is funding. It comes down to the dollars,” she told the Chronicle. “You have to hire talent to teach.”
Texas, with the sixth-largest student population in the nation, ranks 33rd in teacher salaries.
Fortunately, thanks mainly to federal stimulus funds, the new state budget, which the Legislature is preparing to vote on, looks to provide a welcome boost to public education funding.
Among other increases, the House is proposing that $224 million be added to the base amount of $428 million for the Texas Grants college tuition program, and that $25 million be added to the Texas Opportunity Grant program for older students and those in community colleges.
But more funds need to be channeled to the needs of the state’s Hispanic students, and the Legislature should be addressing those needs directly, not by reacting to lawsuits.
Time is fast running out: The Texas State Data Center projects that by 2030 — the same year that Hispanics are predicted to become a majority in Texas — the state’s average household incomes will have dropped $3,000 unless more people complete a college degree.
Friday, April 03, 2009
Senate adopts $182 billion budget
By APRIL CASTRO
April 1, 2009
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Senate on Wednesday voted to adopt a $182.2 billion state budget for the next two years, including $11 billion in federal stimulus spending.
The Senate voted 26-5 to adopt the two-year budget, the most important bill lawmakers will consider during the five-month legislative session.
Using the federal rescue money, senators were able to craft a spending plan that would not dip into a projected $9 billion balance in the state's Rainy Day Fund. Still, officials cautioned that economic conditions could worsen before the budget can become law.
"Sales tax collections are slowing down faster than what we thought," said Sen. Steve Ogden, who was the lead Senate budget writer.
"I would argue that ... the most prudent thing we can do in the state right now is to hold on to that Rainy Day Fund, make sure things don't get worse before they get better."
Attention next turns to the House, which is crafting a separate version of the budget before the two drafts can be reconciled.
The federal stimulus money, which was part of a law signed by President Barack Obama in February, is helping budgeters close a shortfall between available state revenue and spending needs.
"While other states are facing huge deficits, Senate Bill 1 invests in our state's future by increasing funding for education, higher education, job training programs and transportation," said Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who presides over the Senate. "This budget also uses federal stimulus funds responsibly by working to ensure they will not result in ongoing costs to the state, while allowing us to leave the Rainy Day Fund untouched so it can be used to balance the budget in 2011."
Counting all funds, the plan spends about $53 billion on public education, which makes up the largest portion of spending, based on current school finance law and projected student enrollment growth. But the bill also sets aside $1.9 billion, contingent on the Legislature adopting a new school finance plan.
Democratic critics of the budget expressed concern about measures in health and human services spending, including a provision that Ogden said was intended to prohibit state money from being spent on research that destroys human embryos.
Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, called the budget a "fundamentally flawed document."
"It remains far from clear that this provision won't have a direct impact on scientists and researchers at some of the premier laboratories in the state," Watson said. "And this rider will doubtlessly damage our state's reputation for economic development and scientific discovery."
Watson, who voted against the budget, also criticized the plan for relying on the federal rescue dollars to enable "the state's worst fiscal habits without reforming them."
The budget significantly decreases funding to the Texas Youth Commission, which underwent a massive overhaul after a juvenile sex abuse scandal two years ago. The new proposal would cut spending on the juvenile agency by $81 million and mandates more than 700 employee cuts.
The Senate budget increases state spending by:
_ $600 million for cancer prevention and research;
_ $543 million for state schools;
_ $31 million to equip 2,500 school buses with seat belts;
_ $32.5 million to expand pre-kindergarten to 22,500 more children;
_ $27.1 million to buy and operate 450 patrol cars for the Department of Public Safety; and
_ $10 million to expand Boll Weevil eradication efforts made necessary in southeast Texas by Hurricane Ike;
The budget also prohibits the use of state dollars to purchase Microsoft Vista products.
State dollars, made up mostly of sales tax revenue and other taxes, comprise almost 48 percent of the total budget. Federal funds, including the stimulus money, make up about 36 percent of the budget.
The federal stimulus money is less than 10 percent of the total Senate budget. Another $3.3 billion in federal stimulus money has been set aside for supplemental spending in the current budget period, which ends this summer.
The two-year state budget is the one piece of legislation lawmakers are legally required to adopt during the biennial legislative session, which convened in January and adjourns in June.
April 1, 2009
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Senate on Wednesday voted to adopt a $182.2 billion state budget for the next two years, including $11 billion in federal stimulus spending.
The Senate voted 26-5 to adopt the two-year budget, the most important bill lawmakers will consider during the five-month legislative session.
Using the federal rescue money, senators were able to craft a spending plan that would not dip into a projected $9 billion balance in the state's Rainy Day Fund. Still, officials cautioned that economic conditions could worsen before the budget can become law.
"Sales tax collections are slowing down faster than what we thought," said Sen. Steve Ogden, who was the lead Senate budget writer.
"I would argue that ... the most prudent thing we can do in the state right now is to hold on to that Rainy Day Fund, make sure things don't get worse before they get better."
Attention next turns to the House, which is crafting a separate version of the budget before the two drafts can be reconciled.
The federal stimulus money, which was part of a law signed by President Barack Obama in February, is helping budgeters close a shortfall between available state revenue and spending needs.
"While other states are facing huge deficits, Senate Bill 1 invests in our state's future by increasing funding for education, higher education, job training programs and transportation," said Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who presides over the Senate. "This budget also uses federal stimulus funds responsibly by working to ensure they will not result in ongoing costs to the state, while allowing us to leave the Rainy Day Fund untouched so it can be used to balance the budget in 2011."
Counting all funds, the plan spends about $53 billion on public education, which makes up the largest portion of spending, based on current school finance law and projected student enrollment growth. But the bill also sets aside $1.9 billion, contingent on the Legislature adopting a new school finance plan.
Democratic critics of the budget expressed concern about measures in health and human services spending, including a provision that Ogden said was intended to prohibit state money from being spent on research that destroys human embryos.
Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, called the budget a "fundamentally flawed document."
"It remains far from clear that this provision won't have a direct impact on scientists and researchers at some of the premier laboratories in the state," Watson said. "And this rider will doubtlessly damage our state's reputation for economic development and scientific discovery."
Watson, who voted against the budget, also criticized the plan for relying on the federal rescue dollars to enable "the state's worst fiscal habits without reforming them."
The budget significantly decreases funding to the Texas Youth Commission, which underwent a massive overhaul after a juvenile sex abuse scandal two years ago. The new proposal would cut spending on the juvenile agency by $81 million and mandates more than 700 employee cuts.
The Senate budget increases state spending by:
_ $600 million for cancer prevention and research;
_ $543 million for state schools;
_ $31 million to equip 2,500 school buses with seat belts;
_ $32.5 million to expand pre-kindergarten to 22,500 more children;
_ $27.1 million to buy and operate 450 patrol cars for the Department of Public Safety; and
_ $10 million to expand Boll Weevil eradication efforts made necessary in southeast Texas by Hurricane Ike;
The budget also prohibits the use of state dollars to purchase Microsoft Vista products.
State dollars, made up mostly of sales tax revenue and other taxes, comprise almost 48 percent of the total budget. Federal funds, including the stimulus money, make up about 36 percent of the budget.
The federal stimulus money is less than 10 percent of the total Senate budget. Another $3.3 billion in federal stimulus money has been set aside for supplemental spending in the current budget period, which ends this summer.
The two-year state budget is the one piece of legislation lawmakers are legally required to adopt during the biennial legislative session, which convened in January and adjourns in June.
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By BRITTONY LUND
The Lufkin Daily News
Friday, April 03, 2009
A recent piece of state legislation on the top 10 percent rule could make it even more difficult for rural students to have the opportunity to attend state universities like the University of Texas in Austin.
The state Senate passed the bill, by Sen. Florence Shapiro (R-Plano) two weeks ago. It still has to go through the House, where it failed two years ago.
The bill, if passed, would limit automatic admissions under the top 10 percent rule to 60 percent of the incoming freshmen class at state colleges and universities. As the law currently stands, all high school graduates in the top 10 percent of their class are granted automatic admission into any state college or university.
Local school officials fear if this bill passes it will cater to students in urban areas, making it even more difficult for students in rural areas, such as Angelina County, to attend any major state universities.
Roy Knight, superintendent at Lufkin ISD, said current data shows outside of those admitted under the top 10 percent law, UT accepts more students from wealthy families, including those who grew up in Highland Park, Austin's West Lake area and Houston's Bellaire area. He believes if they change the law these students will replace students from rural areas.
"My kids are just as entitled," Knight said. "But in the end it's about the kids who come from affluence unable to get into the universities."
Mary Ann Whiteker, Hudson ISD superintendent, is just one of many local school officials who has always supported the top 10 percent rule and does not want to see it change.
"It's allowed opportunities for our rural students to go to flagship universities," Whiteker said. "Due to where our students live they are limited in the opportunities that are available to a lot of students in the urban and suburban areas."
Eric Wright, superintendent at Huntington ISD, said the top 10 percent rule makes admissions into major universities, like UT Austin, fair to all students based on grades.
"If they're having that much demand they need to expand their programs and allow entrance to more students," Wright said.
Gary Martel, superintendent at Diboll ISD, who has a daughter who got accepted into a major university through the top 10 percent rule, said he doesn't think UT really has an admission problem. Even though last year 81 percent of their freshmen admitted fell under the rule, he said not all students admitted choose to go to that school.
And not all students admitted can afford to go.
"I think they're just complaining," Martel said. "There's not that many. We might be trying to fix something that's really not a problem."
Knight also said data shows that of the 81 percent of freshmen admitted into UT last year under the top 10 percent rule, only 70 percent ended up actually attending.
David Flowers, superintendent at Zavalla ISD, also doesn't think changing the rule would be fair to students.
"A student that is in the top 10 percent of their graduating class should be welcome at our state's colleges and universities," Flowers said.
"These top graduates have worked extremely hard and deserve to be admitted to these institutions should they apply."
The Lufkin Daily News
Friday, April 03, 2009
A recent piece of state legislation on the top 10 percent rule could make it even more difficult for rural students to have the opportunity to attend state universities like the University of Texas in Austin.
The state Senate passed the bill, by Sen. Florence Shapiro (R-Plano) two weeks ago. It still has to go through the House, where it failed two years ago.
The bill, if passed, would limit automatic admissions under the top 10 percent rule to 60 percent of the incoming freshmen class at state colleges and universities. As the law currently stands, all high school graduates in the top 10 percent of their class are granted automatic admission into any state college or university.
Local school officials fear if this bill passes it will cater to students in urban areas, making it even more difficult for students in rural areas, such as Angelina County, to attend any major state universities.
Roy Knight, superintendent at Lufkin ISD, said current data shows outside of those admitted under the top 10 percent law, UT accepts more students from wealthy families, including those who grew up in Highland Park, Austin's West Lake area and Houston's Bellaire area. He believes if they change the law these students will replace students from rural areas.
"My kids are just as entitled," Knight said. "But in the end it's about the kids who come from affluence unable to get into the universities."
Mary Ann Whiteker, Hudson ISD superintendent, is just one of many local school officials who has always supported the top 10 percent rule and does not want to see it change.
"It's allowed opportunities for our rural students to go to flagship universities," Whiteker said. "Due to where our students live they are limited in the opportunities that are available to a lot of students in the urban and suburban areas."
Eric Wright, superintendent at Huntington ISD, said the top 10 percent rule makes admissions into major universities, like UT Austin, fair to all students based on grades.
"If they're having that much demand they need to expand their programs and allow entrance to more students," Wright said.
Gary Martel, superintendent at Diboll ISD, who has a daughter who got accepted into a major university through the top 10 percent rule, said he doesn't think UT really has an admission problem. Even though last year 81 percent of their freshmen admitted fell under the rule, he said not all students admitted choose to go to that school.
And not all students admitted can afford to go.
"I think they're just complaining," Martel said. "There's not that many. We might be trying to fix something that's really not a problem."
Knight also said data shows that of the 81 percent of freshmen admitted into UT last year under the top 10 percent rule, only 70 percent ended up actually attending.
David Flowers, superintendent at Zavalla ISD, also doesn't think changing the rule would be fair to students.
"A student that is in the top 10 percent of their graduating class should be welcome at our state's colleges and universities," Flowers said.
"These top graduates have worked extremely hard and deserve to be admitted to these institutions should they apply."
Friday, March 27, 2009
Texas Senate OKs scaling back top 10 percent college admission rule
By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
AUSTIN – Legislation that would revamp Texas’ top 10 percent law for college admission by limiting it to 60 percent of incoming freshmen was passed by the Senate today and sent to the House.
The measure – pushed by University of Texas officials – represents the first change in the law since it was enacted a dozen years ago to provide a race-neutral admission policy for state colleges and universities.
The bill, by Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, was approved 24-7.
All those who opposed it were Democrats. They warned that the proposal could reverse the gains in minority enrollment at the University of Texas at Austin and other schools, including Texas A&M University and UT-Dallas.
Shapiro rejected that claim, saying UT-Austin officials have assured lawmakers they will continue to boost minority enrollment. If that does not happen, she said, the Legislature can revisit the top 10 percent requirement.
Under current law, public high school seniors in Texas who graduate in the top 10 percent of their class – based on grade point average – are guaranteed admission to any state college or university.
UT-Austin is the school most affected so far. Last fall, 81 percent of its incoming freshmen were admitted under the top 10 percent rule.
As the percentage continues to climb, UT officials say, many qualified students – including some with higher SAT scores – are being turned away.
Under the Senate bill, once 60 percent of the freshman class is admitted under the rule, the remaining 40 percent would be admitted using several criteria, including test scores, leadership ability and extracurricular participation.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
AUSTIN – Legislation that would revamp Texas’ top 10 percent law for college admission by limiting it to 60 percent of incoming freshmen was passed by the Senate today and sent to the House.
The measure – pushed by University of Texas officials – represents the first change in the law since it was enacted a dozen years ago to provide a race-neutral admission policy for state colleges and universities.
The bill, by Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, was approved 24-7.
All those who opposed it were Democrats. They warned that the proposal could reverse the gains in minority enrollment at the University of Texas at Austin and other schools, including Texas A&M University and UT-Dallas.
Shapiro rejected that claim, saying UT-Austin officials have assured lawmakers they will continue to boost minority enrollment. If that does not happen, she said, the Legislature can revisit the top 10 percent requirement.
Under current law, public high school seniors in Texas who graduate in the top 10 percent of their class – based on grade point average – are guaranteed admission to any state college or university.
UT-Austin is the school most affected so far. Last fall, 81 percent of its incoming freshmen were admitted under the top 10 percent rule.
As the percentage continues to climb, UT officials say, many qualified students – including some with higher SAT scores – are being turned away.
Under the Senate bill, once 60 percent of the freshman class is admitted under the rule, the remaining 40 percent would be admitted using several criteria, including test scores, leadership ability and extracurricular participation.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Lawmakers aim to scrap rule that schools must spend 65 percent on instruction
Governor indicates he would accept change if goals can still be met.
By Jason Embry | AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Gov. Rick Perry's 4-year-old mandate that schools spend at least 65 percent of their money on classroom instruction is under fire from key lawmakers in Perry's own party.
Perry, a Republican, indicated that he's open to scrapping the rule if the state can find a better way to measure school efficiency.
"It was an arbitrary number, but it was a very good level," Perry said Monday. "Times change, and people that don't change generally get left behind."
Asked what had changed, Perry said, "We'll let it work its way through the process, and you'll see all the pros and cons."
The mandate has never been popular with school districts, and schools haven't suffered much of a penalty for not meeting it.
Still, the 65 percent push has been one of Perry's signature education initiatives. In a 2006 campaign ad, he said, "We've accomplished a lot, but we still can do more. That's why we're directing schools to spend at least 65 percent of their money on classroom instruction."
House Public Education Committee Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, filed legislation last week to erase the requirement. And though Perry defended the standard as the right thing to do at the time, he said he's working with Eissler to come up with "new ideas to make our schools even more efficient."
Eissler said he filed House Bill 2262 because the standard has not been feasible for districts that vary in enrollment and geographic size.
"There are better ways to measure instructional priorities," Eissler said. "Why don't we look at the school districts that are doing the best and see how they're spending the money?"
Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, said she also wants to repeal Perry's order. "Many of the school districts cannot meet that mandate," Shapiro said. "There are so many other activities and so many other things that are not included in that 65 percent that it skews the numbers."
Perry and his staff did not criticize the rule as strongly as Eissler and Shapiro. Allison Castle, a Perry spokeswoman, said he wants to scrap it only if it can be replaced with something that "maintains or strengthens the goals of the 65 percent rule."
Perry used a 2005 executive order to put the rule in place after lawmakers failed in their regular session and two special sessions that year to change the state's school finance system. "Even though the Legislature did not act, I will," he said then.
But state officials found "classroom instruction" a difficult term to define. In fact, schools have been required to meet two separate standards.
One standard requires schools to spend 65 percent on instruction as defined by the National Center for Education Statistics. But that requirement has been phased in, starting with a 55 percent standard two years ago. This is the first year that schools are required to hit 65 percent under that definition.
Two years ago, the most recent year for which the Texas Education Agency has data, none of the seven districts in Travis County spent at least 65 percent on instruction as defined by that standard.
Schools also have been required over the past few years to spend 65 percent on instruction as defined by former Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley. Her definition allows schools to count spending on counselors, librarians and nurses.
Each definition counts for three points in the school's 85-point financial rating system for school districts. In other words, there has been little penalty for not meeting the 65 percent threshold, provided that a district's overall finances are generally in order.
Districts facing higher fuel and insurance costs have had to raise money to put into classroom instruction if they want to comply with the Perry mandate, said Jacqueline Lain of the Texas Association of School Boards. And that has caused some to raise their local tax rates because per-student state spending on education has remained relatively flat over the past few years, she said.
"Our folks have felt like it's a hoop to jump through without meaning," Lain said.
Eissler, calling the 65 percent rule a good start, said there might be a better way to look at instructional spending that takes a district's unique characteristics into account.
"The governor is fine," Eissler said. "He just wants to see better efficiency and as many resources as possible going to the classroom, and so do I."
By Jason Embry | AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Gov. Rick Perry's 4-year-old mandate that schools spend at least 65 percent of their money on classroom instruction is under fire from key lawmakers in Perry's own party.
Perry, a Republican, indicated that he's open to scrapping the rule if the state can find a better way to measure school efficiency.
"It was an arbitrary number, but it was a very good level," Perry said Monday. "Times change, and people that don't change generally get left behind."
Asked what had changed, Perry said, "We'll let it work its way through the process, and you'll see all the pros and cons."
The mandate has never been popular with school districts, and schools haven't suffered much of a penalty for not meeting it.
Still, the 65 percent push has been one of Perry's signature education initiatives. In a 2006 campaign ad, he said, "We've accomplished a lot, but we still can do more. That's why we're directing schools to spend at least 65 percent of their money on classroom instruction."
House Public Education Committee Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, filed legislation last week to erase the requirement. And though Perry defended the standard as the right thing to do at the time, he said he's working with Eissler to come up with "new ideas to make our schools even more efficient."
Eissler said he filed House Bill 2262 because the standard has not been feasible for districts that vary in enrollment and geographic size.
"There are better ways to measure instructional priorities," Eissler said. "Why don't we look at the school districts that are doing the best and see how they're spending the money?"
Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, said she also wants to repeal Perry's order. "Many of the school districts cannot meet that mandate," Shapiro said. "There are so many other activities and so many other things that are not included in that 65 percent that it skews the numbers."
Perry and his staff did not criticize the rule as strongly as Eissler and Shapiro. Allison Castle, a Perry spokeswoman, said he wants to scrap it only if it can be replaced with something that "maintains or strengthens the goals of the 65 percent rule."
Perry used a 2005 executive order to put the rule in place after lawmakers failed in their regular session and two special sessions that year to change the state's school finance system. "Even though the Legislature did not act, I will," he said then.
But state officials found "classroom instruction" a difficult term to define. In fact, schools have been required to meet two separate standards.
One standard requires schools to spend 65 percent on instruction as defined by the National Center for Education Statistics. But that requirement has been phased in, starting with a 55 percent standard two years ago. This is the first year that schools are required to hit 65 percent under that definition.
Two years ago, the most recent year for which the Texas Education Agency has data, none of the seven districts in Travis County spent at least 65 percent on instruction as defined by that standard.
Schools also have been required over the past few years to spend 65 percent on instruction as defined by former Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley. Her definition allows schools to count spending on counselors, librarians and nurses.
Each definition counts for three points in the school's 85-point financial rating system for school districts. In other words, there has been little penalty for not meeting the 65 percent threshold, provided that a district's overall finances are generally in order.
Districts facing higher fuel and insurance costs have had to raise money to put into classroom instruction if they want to comply with the Perry mandate, said Jacqueline Lain of the Texas Association of School Boards. And that has caused some to raise their local tax rates because per-student state spending on education has remained relatively flat over the past few years, she said.
"Our folks have felt like it's a hoop to jump through without meaning," Lain said.
Eissler, calling the 65 percent rule a good start, said there might be a better way to look at instructional spending that takes a district's unique characteristics into account.
"The governor is fine," Eissler said. "He just wants to see better efficiency and as many resources as possible going to the classroom, and so do I."
Sunday, March 22, 2009
School accountability proposal comes with risk
The proposed changes to accountability noted in this editorial track and stratify youth based on high-stakes standardized testing. What's also of concern and not mentioned here is that "college-readiness" is based on reaching a "college ready" score on two standardized end-of-course exam in Algebra II and English III. These scores have yet to be determined, btw. It's no secret that this will impact the African American and Latino communities the most.
The big question is who and what supports college-readiness being determined by a standardized test? Given the previous post "The High Cost of TAKS" we can see who benefits and it's not youth. Let's also not forget that recently the University of California system decided to move away from the use of the SAT II standardized test and use a more "comprehensive review" of applicants because (and I quote) "[the] Subject Test rule was excluding many otherwise qualified applicants but not helping predict undergraduate performance." The exams were also stated as being “an unnecessary barrier to access." See UC Drops Subject Tests
Sounds like Texas is moving backwards at the expense of minority youth.
-Patricia
Editorial: School accountability proposal comes with risk
Friday, March 13, 2009
The way Texas measures and evaluates its public schools is like a big, gas-guzzling family car that doesn't fit in an age of smaller, more efficient hybrids. Launched in 1993 and retooled along the way, the state accountability test and ranking of schools no longer works as envisioned – not when barely 60 percent of Texas students graduate high school and only 35 percent go directly to college.
That's why we appreciate what state Sen. Florence Shapiro and Rep. Rob Eissler are attempting to forge with their new accountability system. The proposal by the Republican leaders of the Legislature's education committees captures some of the latest trends in education, including measuring how much students grow in a subject during a school year. That's a change from assessing them on whether their students simply passed the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test.
That said, their proposal worries us in several ways:
First, the plan's two-tier high school track risks putting too many young Texans on a low trajectory.
Under their plan, ninth-graders would face a choice. They could get on track to graduate with a Texas Diploma, which would prepare them for college. Or they could choose the track toward a Standard Diploma, which would equip them with skills to land a good job after high school or perhaps attend community college or trade school. Either way, Shapiro and Eissler say, students would be "post-secondary" ready.
But here's the risk: Texas easily could end up with a majority of its students on the Standard Diploma track, instead of the more demanding Texas Diploma track. Let's face it: We already struggle with getting enough kids ready for college. Only about 20 percent of Texas students graduate truly prepared for a university, and the vast majority of minority students are not among them.
There's no doubt that equipping students with basic skills would make school more relevant to some of them, and most work has value. But the two-track option could shortchange the kid who wakes up when he's 35 and realizes, I didn't want to be a machinist all my life.
It also opens up a risk for the state, which could end up with more electricians than engineers. Raymond Paredes, who heads Texas' higher education commission, is absolutely right: Texas will do great harm to its economy if it doesn't prepare enough kids for college.
Which leads us to point two. Legislators better darn sure give incentives to schools to get more kids on the college ready track. And we mean a four-year college that leads them to either a master's degree or a job where they are good at innovation, creativity and problem solving.
Our third concern is related. This college track needs to be as advertised. No handing students off to colleges knowing they'll need remedial classes to catch up. No phony substitute certificates. And no passing kids along in their early grades with a wink and a nod. We mean ready for college.
Shapiro and Eissler envision this new system being among the best in America within 10 years. We certainly hope they're right, just as we hope it leads to more Texas students graduating, instead of dropping out.
But we strongly urge legislators to create clear incentives for schools as early as the elementary grades to encourage students toward the college-ready track, one that truly prepares them for a four-year institution. Otherwise, we could shortchange them and, ultimately, the state's economy.
Friday, March 20, 2009
State urged to ease school accountability rules
This article is correct in that high-stakes testing has been de-emphasized in elementary and middle school grades but it has been heightened at the high school level. Not only do the new end-of-course exams account for 15% of the course final grade which now means that standardized tests will impact student GPA.
In addition, the high stakes attached to the Algebra II and English III exams are also extreme. Under this new system students must pass each of these two tests at a certain score (to be numerically determined by the commissioner) to receive a "college-readiness" or "post-secondary readiness" label on their diploma. So two exams that were never created to determine college readiness will be used to track and label students.
-Patricia
By APRIL CASTRO | Houston Chronicle
March 17, 2009
AUSTIN — Lawmakers are being urged to be more lenient on public schools that get failing grades when a single student group, including ethnic minorities and children from poor families, underperforms on standardized tests.
The complaints about how public schools are graded were aired Tuesday as lawmakers considered sweeping school accountability legislation.
The proposal would de-emphasize the much-criticized Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, though standardized tests would still be an indicator of performance.
“We think one of the great problems with the current system is the single trip wire problem,” said former Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff, who helped devise the existing accountability measures during his tenure in the Legislature.
“We don’t advocate letting school districts get by with letting any one school group fail. But for an entire school district, an entire campus to get marked down simply by one group ... I don’t see that that meets the fairness doctrine.”
Under the current system, every school and district in the state is graded based on annual TAKS scores and dropout rates among each student group. State ratings are anxiously awaited by superintendents, teachers and parents because they are the chief measure of how well schools are educating their students.
But educators and parents have increasingly voiced dissatisfaction with the grading system that was first implemented in 1994.
Sen. Florence Shapiro, chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, said continuing to hold schools accountable for each group is one of her biggest concerns about the accountability overhaul.
“I hope and I pray that we do not fall back on that,” Shapiro said. “Disaggregating has been the highlight of what we do. I expect that this will be a robust element in our discussions.”
The pending proposal, which is still being crafted and will likely change, also aims to prepare students for success after high school, whether in college or the work force.
Annual school performance ratings would be based on three years of test scores rather than the most recent year.
In addition, the high stakes attached to the Algebra II and English III exams are also extreme. Under this new system students must pass each of these two tests at a certain score (to be numerically determined by the commissioner) to receive a "college-readiness" or "post-secondary readiness" label on their diploma. So two exams that were never created to determine college readiness will be used to track and label students.
-Patricia
By APRIL CASTRO | Houston Chronicle
March 17, 2009
AUSTIN — Lawmakers are being urged to be more lenient on public schools that get failing grades when a single student group, including ethnic minorities and children from poor families, underperforms on standardized tests.
The complaints about how public schools are graded were aired Tuesday as lawmakers considered sweeping school accountability legislation.
The proposal would de-emphasize the much-criticized Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, though standardized tests would still be an indicator of performance.
“We think one of the great problems with the current system is the single trip wire problem,” said former Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff, who helped devise the existing accountability measures during his tenure in the Legislature.
“We don’t advocate letting school districts get by with letting any one school group fail. But for an entire school district, an entire campus to get marked down simply by one group ... I don’t see that that meets the fairness doctrine.”
Under the current system, every school and district in the state is graded based on annual TAKS scores and dropout rates among each student group. State ratings are anxiously awaited by superintendents, teachers and parents because they are the chief measure of how well schools are educating their students.
But educators and parents have increasingly voiced dissatisfaction with the grading system that was first implemented in 1994.
Sen. Florence Shapiro, chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, said continuing to hold schools accountable for each group is one of her biggest concerns about the accountability overhaul.
“I hope and I pray that we do not fall back on that,” Shapiro said. “Disaggregating has been the highlight of what we do. I expect that this will be a robust element in our discussions.”
The pending proposal, which is still being crafted and will likely change, also aims to prepare students for success after high school, whether in college or the work force.
Annual school performance ratings would be based on three years of test scores rather than the most recent year.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Texas Senate, House panels take up bills to improve student testing
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News
tstutz@dallasnews.com
AUSTIN – Texas high school students would have to pass at least eight out of 12 end-of-course exams to get a diploma, and elementary school students would no longer have to pass the state achievement test in certain grades to be promoted under school improvement legislation taken up Tuesday by House and Senate committees.
The 120-page bill would take the pressure off elementary and middle schools to focus on preparation for the TAKS test by allowing school districts to devise their own promotion standards – using TAKS results, course grades and teacher recommendations. No longer would students in grades 3, 5 and 8 have to pass the test to be promoted.
But high-stakes testing would continue in high school, where students would have to pass at least two of the three end-of-course exams now being developed in each of four core subject areas – English, math, science and social studies. Students not meeting the requirement would not receive a diploma.
Currently, students must pass the TAKS exit-level exam and complete required course credits to earn a diploma.
"This new system looks beyond a single test and looks at multiple indicators of student achievement," said House Public Education Committee Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, referring to the changes in elementary and middle schools. "It will reduce the pressure on school districts because students' promotions will be based on multiple measures."
Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, said that after years of the state setting promotion standards for schools, it is time to give that responsibility to local school officials.
"We believe we need to give back to local school districts the ability to decide how to do this," she said.
The twin measures by Shapiro and Eissler, based on meetings around the state last year, also would eliminate the current performance ratings for schools and campuses – such as "academically acceptable" and "unacceptable." Schools would still be evaluated annually based on students' test scores, dropout rates and financial integrity – but they would receive one of three ratings from good to bad: accredited, accredited-warned and accredited-probation. Schools doing poorly for multiple years would lose their accreditation – and state funding.
Shapiro pointed out another major difference in the proposed accountability system – schools and districts would be rated based on achievement growth and a rolling three-year average for test scores, rather than on a single year of testing.
By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News
tstutz@dallasnews.com
AUSTIN – Texas high school students would have to pass at least eight out of 12 end-of-course exams to get a diploma, and elementary school students would no longer have to pass the state achievement test in certain grades to be promoted under school improvement legislation taken up Tuesday by House and Senate committees.
The 120-page bill would take the pressure off elementary and middle schools to focus on preparation for the TAKS test by allowing school districts to devise their own promotion standards – using TAKS results, course grades and teacher recommendations. No longer would students in grades 3, 5 and 8 have to pass the test to be promoted.
But high-stakes testing would continue in high school, where students would have to pass at least two of the three end-of-course exams now being developed in each of four core subject areas – English, math, science and social studies. Students not meeting the requirement would not receive a diploma.
Currently, students must pass the TAKS exit-level exam and complete required course credits to earn a diploma.
"This new system looks beyond a single test and looks at multiple indicators of student achievement," said House Public Education Committee Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, referring to the changes in elementary and middle schools. "It will reduce the pressure on school districts because students' promotions will be based on multiple measures."
Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, said that after years of the state setting promotion standards for schools, it is time to give that responsibility to local school officials.
"We believe we need to give back to local school districts the ability to decide how to do this," she said.
The twin measures by Shapiro and Eissler, based on meetings around the state last year, also would eliminate the current performance ratings for schools and campuses – such as "academically acceptable" and "unacceptable." Schools would still be evaluated annually based on students' test scores, dropout rates and financial integrity – but they would receive one of three ratings from good to bad: accredited, accredited-warned and accredited-probation. Schools doing poorly for multiple years would lose their accreditation – and state funding.
Shapiro pointed out another major difference in the proposed accountability system – schools and districts would be rated based on achievement growth and a rolling three-year average for test scores, rather than on a single year of testing.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Does accountability system offer path to a career or a track to nowhere?
By Kate Alexander | Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 06:18 PM
The proposed overhaul of Texas’ school accountability system sought to give students different paths that lead to graduation as a way to keep school relevant to all kids and reduce dropouts.
But to some people, those paths are seen as tracks that would direct kids - particularly low-income, minority kids, they say - away from college, according to committee testimony Tuesday.
The identical accountability bills introduced by the education committee leaders in both chambers, Rep. Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, and Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, set the goal of “post-secondary readiness,” meaning that high school graduates will be ready for college or a high-skill job.
Students can get different endorsements on their diploma based on the curriculum path they take.
The concern is that the workforce readiness endorsement could be perceived as inferior to the college readiness endorsement. And that label could stick with a student long after high school.
State Rep. Harold Dutton Jr., D-Houston, said this system “stamps this path on a student’s forehead” and “places more students at risk of not having a future.”
But Eissler said the objective was not to track students but to give them the freedom to take courses relevant to their interests and will keep them coming back for more.
Since most jobs will require some college, the workforce-readiness path should be just as rigorous as the college-readiness option, he added.
“I think this is a college enhancement program, not a college limitation program,” Eissler said.
Both the House Public Education Committee and the Senate Education Committee took testimony on the expansive bill Tuesday but did not act. The committee leaders said they would come back with a new version of the bill soon based on comments from the public.
The proposed overhaul of Texas’ school accountability system sought to give students different paths that lead to graduation as a way to keep school relevant to all kids and reduce dropouts.
But to some people, those paths are seen as tracks that would direct kids - particularly low-income, minority kids, they say - away from college, according to committee testimony Tuesday.
The identical accountability bills introduced by the education committee leaders in both chambers, Rep. Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, and Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, set the goal of “post-secondary readiness,” meaning that high school graduates will be ready for college or a high-skill job.
Students can get different endorsements on their diploma based on the curriculum path they take.
The concern is that the workforce readiness endorsement could be perceived as inferior to the college readiness endorsement. And that label could stick with a student long after high school.
State Rep. Harold Dutton Jr., D-Houston, said this system “stamps this path on a student’s forehead” and “places more students at risk of not having a future.”
But Eissler said the objective was not to track students but to give them the freedom to take courses relevant to their interests and will keep them coming back for more.
Since most jobs will require some college, the workforce-readiness path should be just as rigorous as the college-readiness option, he added.
“I think this is a college enhancement program, not a college limitation program,” Eissler said.
Both the House Public Education Committee and the Senate Education Committee took testimony on the expansive bill Tuesday but did not act. The committee leaders said they would come back with a new version of the bill soon based on comments from the public.
John Young: Stamped as 'college material'?
John Young | Waco Tribune
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
In NBC’s series “Friday Night Lights,” a pampered high schooler goes into a senioritis death spiral. Why? She’s suddenly realized that with her middle-of-the-pack grades, the two Texas-college color schemes of her dreams — burnt orange and maroon — are out of the question.
It’s hard to sympathize. Every student in this state with an eye on college knows, or should, about the rule that has guaranteed admission to the top 10 percent of high school graduating classes.
It’s a rule lawmakers are poised to dramatically alter this week, partially because an underbuilt college system has placed too much of a premium on two primo universities.
But something else is happening in the statehouse this week about college admissions, and it has nothing to do with percentiles.
It has to do with — ah, man, you guessed it — standardized testing.
Doesn’t everything come down to that? And isn’t that wrong?
Whether they would be tacitly or directly influenced, college admissions are among the less-discussed subtexts of ambitious legislation to revamp Texas’ school accountability system.
Two measures, House Bill 3 and Senate Bill 3, portend major, and in many cases very welcome, changes. Among the good:
* De-emphasizing the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills in promoting students. Under the new approach, TAKS scores would supplement other, broader criteria.
* Judging schools on a “growth model” tracking improvement, rather than today’s “gotcha” approach that doesn’t acknowledge different starting points based on economic advantages and disadvantages.
* Better aligning what colleges require and what high schools produce.
All of that is good, unless we get into a mode of standardizing what “college material” is. That would be bad. There’s evidence in this well-meaning legislation that it would result in exactly that, to the detriment of some promising students.
At issue is the use of high school end-of-course exams to certify a student as “college-ready.”
Pass the end-of-course exam for advanced English and Algebra II, and that’s your prize under an “advanced high school program,” according to the legislation. The bill also calls on the state to develop such exams for social studies and science. They would be used to give a state-certified endorsement of college readiness, as well.
Those who didn’t take advanced English or Algebra II, or who couldn’t pass the end-of-course exam in either, could still graduate but with the “alternate performance standard,” meaning “postsecondary-ready” (candidates for community college or technical schools). What critics say it really means is these students would be “remediation-ready” — aka, “not worthy.”
Wait a minute. What about the young man who can master the complexities of a circuit board but who is knock-kneed putting his words in prose? What about the young lady who is the next great novelist but who crumples into a heap in the face of algebraic equations?
I’ll guarantee that I had an “advanced high school program,” but one that was loaded toward English and journalism my senior year, with no math. Would that have made me not “college-ready”?
Some minority advocacy groups fear an “apartheid” system, with the top-10 rule in jeopardy and end-of-course exams assuming such weight. They warn that the Algebra II end-of-course test itself could marginalize staggering numbers of Hispanic and African-American students, making them think they aren’t college material.
It is true that Texas colleges spend too much time and resources on remediation for students who need help in math or English. But let’s acknowledge that it’s a pretty good investment if it results in the first college graduate in a family’s history.
It’s one thing not to reinforce the privileges of the pampered when we want students ready for college. It’s another to admit that for some, no matter how worthy, college is the last place they ever thought they’d be. We should think bigger for them.
John Young’s column appears Thursday, Sunday and occasionally Tuesday. E-mail: jyoung@wacotrib.com.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
In NBC’s series “Friday Night Lights,” a pampered high schooler goes into a senioritis death spiral. Why? She’s suddenly realized that with her middle-of-the-pack grades, the two Texas-college color schemes of her dreams — burnt orange and maroon — are out of the question.
It’s hard to sympathize. Every student in this state with an eye on college knows, or should, about the rule that has guaranteed admission to the top 10 percent of high school graduating classes.
It’s a rule lawmakers are poised to dramatically alter this week, partially because an underbuilt college system has placed too much of a premium on two primo universities.
But something else is happening in the statehouse this week about college admissions, and it has nothing to do with percentiles.
It has to do with — ah, man, you guessed it — standardized testing.
Doesn’t everything come down to that? And isn’t that wrong?
Whether they would be tacitly or directly influenced, college admissions are among the less-discussed subtexts of ambitious legislation to revamp Texas’ school accountability system.
Two measures, House Bill 3 and Senate Bill 3, portend major, and in many cases very welcome, changes. Among the good:
* De-emphasizing the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills in promoting students. Under the new approach, TAKS scores would supplement other, broader criteria.
* Judging schools on a “growth model” tracking improvement, rather than today’s “gotcha” approach that doesn’t acknowledge different starting points based on economic advantages and disadvantages.
* Better aligning what colleges require and what high schools produce.
All of that is good, unless we get into a mode of standardizing what “college material” is. That would be bad. There’s evidence in this well-meaning legislation that it would result in exactly that, to the detriment of some promising students.
At issue is the use of high school end-of-course exams to certify a student as “college-ready.”
Pass the end-of-course exam for advanced English and Algebra II, and that’s your prize under an “advanced high school program,” according to the legislation. The bill also calls on the state to develop such exams for social studies and science. They would be used to give a state-certified endorsement of college readiness, as well.
Those who didn’t take advanced English or Algebra II, or who couldn’t pass the end-of-course exam in either, could still graduate but with the “alternate performance standard,” meaning “postsecondary-ready” (candidates for community college or technical schools). What critics say it really means is these students would be “remediation-ready” — aka, “not worthy.”
Wait a minute. What about the young man who can master the complexities of a circuit board but who is knock-kneed putting his words in prose? What about the young lady who is the next great novelist but who crumples into a heap in the face of algebraic equations?
I’ll guarantee that I had an “advanced high school program,” but one that was loaded toward English and journalism my senior year, with no math. Would that have made me not “college-ready”?
Some minority advocacy groups fear an “apartheid” system, with the top-10 rule in jeopardy and end-of-course exams assuming such weight. They warn that the Algebra II end-of-course test itself could marginalize staggering numbers of Hispanic and African-American students, making them think they aren’t college material.
It is true that Texas colleges spend too much time and resources on remediation for students who need help in math or English. But let’s acknowledge that it’s a pretty good investment if it results in the first college graduate in a family’s history.
It’s one thing not to reinforce the privileges of the pampered when we want students ready for college. It’s another to admit that for some, no matter how worthy, college is the last place they ever thought they’d be. We should think bigger for them.
John Young’s column appears Thursday, Sunday and occasionally Tuesday. E-mail: jyoung@wacotrib.com.
Bills would bolster technical education
By Kate Alexander | AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Texas high school students who aren't headed to college need better opportunities to prepare for jobs even before they graduate, legislators said this week as they introduced two bills to bolster career and technical education.
Led by Senate Education Chairwoman Florence Shapiro, the lawmakers said they hope the renewed push for such education will both prepare a better crop of workers for Texas employers and propel more students to a high school diploma.
One bill aims to encourage high schools to offer coursework aligned with specific career opportunities so a student could graduate with both a high school diploma and technical certification. Under the bill, the state would pay for the certification.
Shapiro, a Plano Republican, said the career and technology courses will not be the vocational classes of yesterday. Such courses will be kept "a part of and not apart from our academic program," she said.
Students would still be required to take four years of math and science, as college-bound students are, but they would have more relevant course options, such as engineering mathematics, said Republican Rep. Rob Eissler of The Woodlands, the bill's House sponsor and chairman of the Public Education Committee.
Schools that develop top-notch career and technology programs would have the opportunity to earn accolades under a new statewide accountability bill by Shapiro and Eissler that is to be unveiled today.
The second bill provides grants to foster career and technology programs at community colleges.
Cost estimates for implementing both bills were not available Wednesday.
The renewed focus on career and technology education is coming at a critical juncture, business groups say.
Luke Bellsnyder, executive director of the Texas Association of Manufacturers, said his members are the consumers of what Texas schools produce.
Up to 40 percent of workers in Texas manufacturing jobs will be eligible for retirement in the next five years, but Texas is not producing the skilled young workers to replace them, Bellsnyder said.
"We're just not seeing the product we need to compete globally and compete with our neighboring states," Bellsnyder said.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Texas high school students who aren't headed to college need better opportunities to prepare for jobs even before they graduate, legislators said this week as they introduced two bills to bolster career and technical education.
Led by Senate Education Chairwoman Florence Shapiro, the lawmakers said they hope the renewed push for such education will both prepare a better crop of workers for Texas employers and propel more students to a high school diploma.
One bill aims to encourage high schools to offer coursework aligned with specific career opportunities so a student could graduate with both a high school diploma and technical certification. Under the bill, the state would pay for the certification.
Shapiro, a Plano Republican, said the career and technology courses will not be the vocational classes of yesterday. Such courses will be kept "a part of and not apart from our academic program," she said.
Students would still be required to take four years of math and science, as college-bound students are, but they would have more relevant course options, such as engineering mathematics, said Republican Rep. Rob Eissler of The Woodlands, the bill's House sponsor and chairman of the Public Education Committee.
Schools that develop top-notch career and technology programs would have the opportunity to earn accolades under a new statewide accountability bill by Shapiro and Eissler that is to be unveiled today.
The second bill provides grants to foster career and technology programs at community colleges.
Cost estimates for implementing both bills were not available Wednesday.
The renewed focus on career and technology education is coming at a critical juncture, business groups say.
Luke Bellsnyder, executive director of the Texas Association of Manufacturers, said his members are the consumers of what Texas schools produce.
Up to 40 percent of workers in Texas manufacturing jobs will be eligible for retirement in the next five years, but Texas is not producing the skilled young workers to replace them, Bellsnyder said.
"We're just not seeing the product we need to compete globally and compete with our neighboring states," Bellsnyder said.
Monday, March 09, 2009
LEGISLATURE '09 EDUCATION
Thursday, March 5, 2009
By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN – Advocates for more technology in the classroom – and fewer textbooks – are stepping up their arguments for change this year, trying to convince Texas lawmakers that the future of electronic textbooks is now.
The technology push is getting a boost from a special House committee that warned about the consequences if Texas is stuck in the past when it comes to classroom materials. Among the reasons: the higher cost of printed books, the expense of transporting and storing them, and the fact that they can be outdated before students get them.
"Our current system just seems outdated in an economy where you can put much of this content out digitally without all those costs," said Rep. Dan Branch, the Dallas Republican who led the committee. He is preparing to file legislation that gives school districts more leverage to purchase electronic textbooks. The goal is to enable local school officials to speed up their shift to e-books through downloads to student laptops, access to online servers or use of computer disks.
'Slow evolution'
Textbook publishers say that while they offer digital versions of many of their products, the expense of computers makes books a better option for some districts.
"You can't put digital content into schools unless there are computers and laptops there to read it. That's the key – and it's happening in some districts but not in others," said Jay Diskey of the Association of American Publishers. "It's a slow evolution, and in a state like Texas, where there is a large enrollment, it is a very expensive proposition."
While there is not a great deal of research on how well students do with electronic books, one recent study from Great Britain found that young students using e-books scored higher in both group and individual tests than those using print books. A pilot program in Texas – providing laptops to all students in selected schools in two dozen districts – also has been getting positive results.
Irving is the only school district in the Dallas area participating in the Technology Immersion Pilot. The district is known as a technology leader in North Texas, having provided all its high school students with laptops for several years.
Alice Owen, executive director of technology for the district, said there is no doubt that the emphasis on technology has paid off with improved student achievement and performance on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.
"Laptops have certainly been a major factor in our test score improvements," she said.
While many textbooks are available in digital format to be accessed on computers, Owen said there are still a large number of books – particularly at the elementary school level – that aren't available in electronic form.
"It makes more sense for publishers to offer their books electronically, so they can correct errors and update information every year – as opposed to printed textbooks, which are unchanged for several years," she said. "There is also so much more opportunity to enhance textbook experience."
Diskey said publishers have been moving into the digital age as quickly as other industries, and most of them offer digital as well as traditional textbooks to school districts in Texas.
One area of dispute is whether funds used for textbook purchases in the past should be used in the future to buy computers and hardware – an idea strongly opposed by publishers and the State Board of Education.
Branch said lawmakers should be open to the idea of a combined state allotment for technology and textbooks, but he maintained that "most of the funding has to be focused on content, including software."
House Public Education Committee Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, supports the technology push, although he cautions that some school districts are still more comfortable – financially and educationally – with regular textbooks.
"Hopefully, we will evolve into an all-technology content delivery, but we're not there yet," he said. "It is tough to break some traditions in our schools, but we do have many districts that are ahead of the curve on technology."
Eissler, who served on the select committee with Branch, said there appear to be obvious savings by shifting away from textbooks to technology – one of the reasons he sees "big changes" coming to the textbook market.
For example, a joint venture of five higher education textbook publishers – called CourseSmart – is selling e-textbooks nationwide for prices that are on average half that of equivalent printed copies. While e-textbooks can be viewed on a laptop, another option is the Kindle reader, which allows readers to load books just as songs are loaded on an iPod.
Readiness question
Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, wants to be careful about how quickly the state spurs school districts to move into the digital age.
"Not everyone is ready to do 21st-century technology," she said. "Some districts are very capable of going online, while others still have a difficult time.
"I don't want to see us throw one out and replace it with the other but instead combine them and give districts the flexibility to decide when they want to use textbooks and when they would rather use technology."
Branch said he intends to give districts plenty of leeway in bringing more technology into schools.
"In certain grades, such as reading for first-graders, a textbook may be exactly the right tool. But in a computer graphics class in high school, the best tool is probably not a textbook," he said.
"The point is, we need to be looking for more efficient ways to get course content to students in a way that is most appealing to them."
By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN – Advocates for more technology in the classroom – and fewer textbooks – are stepping up their arguments for change this year, trying to convince Texas lawmakers that the future of electronic textbooks is now.
The technology push is getting a boost from a special House committee that warned about the consequences if Texas is stuck in the past when it comes to classroom materials. Among the reasons: the higher cost of printed books, the expense of transporting and storing them, and the fact that they can be outdated before students get them.
"Our current system just seems outdated in an economy where you can put much of this content out digitally without all those costs," said Rep. Dan Branch, the Dallas Republican who led the committee. He is preparing to file legislation that gives school districts more leverage to purchase electronic textbooks. The goal is to enable local school officials to speed up their shift to e-books through downloads to student laptops, access to online servers or use of computer disks.
'Slow evolution'
Textbook publishers say that while they offer digital versions of many of their products, the expense of computers makes books a better option for some districts.
"You can't put digital content into schools unless there are computers and laptops there to read it. That's the key – and it's happening in some districts but not in others," said Jay Diskey of the Association of American Publishers. "It's a slow evolution, and in a state like Texas, where there is a large enrollment, it is a very expensive proposition."
While there is not a great deal of research on how well students do with electronic books, one recent study from Great Britain found that young students using e-books scored higher in both group and individual tests than those using print books. A pilot program in Texas – providing laptops to all students in selected schools in two dozen districts – also has been getting positive results.
Irving is the only school district in the Dallas area participating in the Technology Immersion Pilot. The district is known as a technology leader in North Texas, having provided all its high school students with laptops for several years.
Alice Owen, executive director of technology for the district, said there is no doubt that the emphasis on technology has paid off with improved student achievement and performance on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.
"Laptops have certainly been a major factor in our test score improvements," she said.
While many textbooks are available in digital format to be accessed on computers, Owen said there are still a large number of books – particularly at the elementary school level – that aren't available in electronic form.
"It makes more sense for publishers to offer their books electronically, so they can correct errors and update information every year – as opposed to printed textbooks, which are unchanged for several years," she said. "There is also so much more opportunity to enhance textbook experience."
Diskey said publishers have been moving into the digital age as quickly as other industries, and most of them offer digital as well as traditional textbooks to school districts in Texas.
One area of dispute is whether funds used for textbook purchases in the past should be used in the future to buy computers and hardware – an idea strongly opposed by publishers and the State Board of Education.
Branch said lawmakers should be open to the idea of a combined state allotment for technology and textbooks, but he maintained that "most of the funding has to be focused on content, including software."
House Public Education Committee Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, supports the technology push, although he cautions that some school districts are still more comfortable – financially and educationally – with regular textbooks.
"Hopefully, we will evolve into an all-technology content delivery, but we're not there yet," he said. "It is tough to break some traditions in our schools, but we do have many districts that are ahead of the curve on technology."
Eissler, who served on the select committee with Branch, said there appear to be obvious savings by shifting away from textbooks to technology – one of the reasons he sees "big changes" coming to the textbook market.
For example, a joint venture of five higher education textbook publishers – called CourseSmart – is selling e-textbooks nationwide for prices that are on average half that of equivalent printed copies. While e-textbooks can be viewed on a laptop, another option is the Kindle reader, which allows readers to load books just as songs are loaded on an iPod.
Readiness question
Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, wants to be careful about how quickly the state spurs school districts to move into the digital age.
"Not everyone is ready to do 21st-century technology," she said. "Some districts are very capable of going online, while others still have a difficult time.
"I don't want to see us throw one out and replace it with the other but instead combine them and give districts the flexibility to decide when they want to use textbooks and when they would rather use technology."
Branch said he intends to give districts plenty of leeway in bringing more technology into schools.
"In certain grades, such as reading for first-graders, a textbook may be exactly the right tool. But in a computer graphics class in high school, the best tool is probably not a textbook," he said.
"The point is, we need to be looking for more efficient ways to get course content to students in a way that is most appealing to them."
Lawmakers propose overhaul of school accountability system
By Kate Alexander
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, March 06, 2009
The high-stakes standardized tests that have induced fear and dread among Texas students in recent years would lose some of their bite in an overhaul of the state's school accountability system unveiled Thursday.
Testing would still be used to measure student achievement in the system, proposed by the leaders of the education committees in the Legislature. And passing end-of-course exams would be required for graduation.
But standardized test scores in the lower grades would no longer determine whether a student moves to the next grade — or whether a school stays open.
"An accountability system shouldn't be a gotcha. We are not looking for ways to trip up schools," said House Public Education Committee Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands. "We're looking for ways to drive student achievement and help schools get better."
Under the plan proposed by Eissler and Senate Education Chairwoman Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, the key measure of student achievement will be "growth," or showing that students are progressing toward the grade-level standard, even if they are below it. That progress could be examined over a three-year period.
The "dirty little secret" of the current accountability system is that low-performing students are a liability for schools, said Julian Vasquez Heilig, a University of Texas education professor. But the promise of the growth model, he says, is that schools can be rewarded for helping students close the gap between where they are and where they need to be.
"The potential is there for low-performing high schools to sparkle," Vasquez Heilig said.
At the former Johnston High School in Austin, for example, student test scores improved dramatically last year after years of dismal results. But the progress was not enough to meet the state standards, and the school closed last year under the state's harshest accountability sanction. It is unclear whether Johnston could have stayed open if the growth model were in place at that time.
The reprieve might not be enough to save two other Austin schools Pearce Middle School in East Austin and Reagan High School in Northeast Austin that are facing possible closure because they have been repeatedly rated academically unacceptable under the current accountability system.
The new system, if approved by the Legislature, would not go into effect until 2011. The existing rules would stay in place until that time.
Teacher groups said Thursday that they were still poring over the lengthy bill, but they lamented the continued emphasis on testing.
"This bill does little to fix the key flaw in the current accountability system: the extreme emphasis placed on standardized test scores as the measure of progress for students and schools," Linda Bridges, president of the Texas office of the American Federation of Teachers, said in a statement.
"Under this proposal our teachers and students would receive no relief from the severe loss of real instructional time caused by excessive practice testing, test preparation, and benchmark testing tied to the standardized state exams."
There will be plenty of opportunity to change the proposal. Alternative language was already being drafted Thursday for the filed bill.
Texas has been at the forefront of public school accountability since the early 1990s. Gov. George W. Bush used much of the state's system as a model for the federal No Child Left Behind Act he championed as president.
Thursday's proposed revamp of the state's accountability system does away with some of the hallmarks of the Bush-era education reform, including lifting restrictions on social promotion.
State law now requires children in the third, fifth and eighth grades to pass the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills to move on to the next grade, though that restriction can be, and has been, circumvented.
The new proposal drops the state rules and gives local school districts the discretion to develop rules and procedures for promoting students.
Sandy Kress, a pioneer of school accountability, said this new approach is not a repudiation of the past policies but an evolution.
"It is dealing with some of the issues that have arisen and making the accountability system work better, work smarter," said Kress, who helped shepherd No Child Left Behind and served on a committee that recommended the proposed changes.
"The accountability system may get tougher because of this," Kress said. "It may get more honest about whether students are on the path to reaching the real goal, not just passing a test."
That "real goal," the bill's authors say, is preparing Texas students either for college or a skilled job.
Today's system has created an "illusion of progress" by setting minimum passing standards that have no connection to what Texas graduates need to know to succeed in college or the work force, Shapiro said.
In the graduating class of 2007, 43 percent of graduates who followed at least the state's recommended high school program were not college-ready in one subject or more, according to a report by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
Shapiro and Eissler said the aim is to develop a less-rigid system that gives students more options and rewards schools for more things than test performance, such as high-quality programs for fine arts or career and technology education. The well-known school rankings, ranging from "exemplary" to "unacceptable," would be eliminated.
"A Texas high school diploma doesn't mean as much to employers as it did in years past," said Drew Scheberle of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce. The focus on college- and workplace-readiness in the proposal should better prepare Texas graduates for high-skilled jobs in the future and help Austin to recruit those jobs, Scheberle said.
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, March 06, 2009
The high-stakes standardized tests that have induced fear and dread among Texas students in recent years would lose some of their bite in an overhaul of the state's school accountability system unveiled Thursday.
Testing would still be used to measure student achievement in the system, proposed by the leaders of the education committees in the Legislature. And passing end-of-course exams would be required for graduation.
But standardized test scores in the lower grades would no longer determine whether a student moves to the next grade — or whether a school stays open.
"An accountability system shouldn't be a gotcha. We are not looking for ways to trip up schools," said House Public Education Committee Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands. "We're looking for ways to drive student achievement and help schools get better."
Under the plan proposed by Eissler and Senate Education Chairwoman Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, the key measure of student achievement will be "growth," or showing that students are progressing toward the grade-level standard, even if they are below it. That progress could be examined over a three-year period.
The "dirty little secret" of the current accountability system is that low-performing students are a liability for schools, said Julian Vasquez Heilig, a University of Texas education professor. But the promise of the growth model, he says, is that schools can be rewarded for helping students close the gap between where they are and where they need to be.
"The potential is there for low-performing high schools to sparkle," Vasquez Heilig said.
At the former Johnston High School in Austin, for example, student test scores improved dramatically last year after years of dismal results. But the progress was not enough to meet the state standards, and the school closed last year under the state's harshest accountability sanction. It is unclear whether Johnston could have stayed open if the growth model were in place at that time.
The reprieve might not be enough to save two other Austin schools Pearce Middle School in East Austin and Reagan High School in Northeast Austin that are facing possible closure because they have been repeatedly rated academically unacceptable under the current accountability system.
The new system, if approved by the Legislature, would not go into effect until 2011. The existing rules would stay in place until that time.
Teacher groups said Thursday that they were still poring over the lengthy bill, but they lamented the continued emphasis on testing.
"This bill does little to fix the key flaw in the current accountability system: the extreme emphasis placed on standardized test scores as the measure of progress for students and schools," Linda Bridges, president of the Texas office of the American Federation of Teachers, said in a statement.
"Under this proposal our teachers and students would receive no relief from the severe loss of real instructional time caused by excessive practice testing, test preparation, and benchmark testing tied to the standardized state exams."
There will be plenty of opportunity to change the proposal. Alternative language was already being drafted Thursday for the filed bill.
Texas has been at the forefront of public school accountability since the early 1990s. Gov. George W. Bush used much of the state's system as a model for the federal No Child Left Behind Act he championed as president.
Thursday's proposed revamp of the state's accountability system does away with some of the hallmarks of the Bush-era education reform, including lifting restrictions on social promotion.
State law now requires children in the third, fifth and eighth grades to pass the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills to move on to the next grade, though that restriction can be, and has been, circumvented.
The new proposal drops the state rules and gives local school districts the discretion to develop rules and procedures for promoting students.
Sandy Kress, a pioneer of school accountability, said this new approach is not a repudiation of the past policies but an evolution.
"It is dealing with some of the issues that have arisen and making the accountability system work better, work smarter," said Kress, who helped shepherd No Child Left Behind and served on a committee that recommended the proposed changes.
"The accountability system may get tougher because of this," Kress said. "It may get more honest about whether students are on the path to reaching the real goal, not just passing a test."
That "real goal," the bill's authors say, is preparing Texas students either for college or a skilled job.
Today's system has created an "illusion of progress" by setting minimum passing standards that have no connection to what Texas graduates need to know to succeed in college or the work force, Shapiro said.
In the graduating class of 2007, 43 percent of graduates who followed at least the state's recommended high school program were not college-ready in one subject or more, according to a report by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
Shapiro and Eissler said the aim is to develop a less-rigid system that gives students more options and rewards schools for more things than test performance, such as high-quality programs for fine arts or career and technology education. The well-known school rankings, ranging from "exemplary" to "unacceptable," would be eliminated.
"A Texas high school diploma doesn't mean as much to employers as it did in years past," said Drew Scheberle of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce. The focus on college- and workplace-readiness in the proposal should better prepare Texas graduates for high-skilled jobs in the future and help Austin to recruit those jobs, Scheberle said.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Bad Education Bills Have Been Filed in the Texas Legislature That Will Reduce Math and Science Graduation Requirements
As stated in an earlier post, the "Common Ground"proposal mentioned in this press release is full of subtle and not-so-subtle prejudice. For example, on page 13, immigrants are referred to as “largely illiterate in both English and their native language.”
I would also alert you that there are discussions about revising the Texas Grant from needs-based to merit-based.
These changes would mean that eligibility would change from fulfilling one of the following criteria: a 2.5 GPA, Distinguished or Recommended track, SAT or ACT score)to TWO of the following four (revised) criteria:
a) 3.0 GPA
b) Top 1/3 of class
c) SAT Score (1070) / ACT (23)
d) Distinguished diploma
So this would mean that only ONE of the three diploma tracks proposed by the authors of Common Ground would provide eligibility for Texas Grant aid. Supporters of this change have also confirmed that African American and Latino youth WILL be negatively impacted.
-Patricia
PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
2009 February 21
Contact:
Steven Schafersman
Texas Citizens for Science
tcs@texscience.org
http://www.texscience.org
432-352-2265
Bad Education Bills Have Been Filed in the Texas Legislature That Will Reduce
Math and Science Graduation Requirements
Report link:
http://www.texscience.org/reports/highschool-graduation-curriculum-2009Feb18.htm
Texas Citizens for Science, the advocacy organization that defends the accuracy
and reliability of science education in Texas, has published a new investigative
report on the attempt of six prominent Texans to reduce the high school science
and math graduation requirements for approximately 80% of Texas students. The
six gentlemen are Sandy Kress, Don McAdams, Mike Moses, David Thompson, Jim
Windham, and Bill Ratliff. Some of these gentlemen have in the past performed
outstanding services for Texas education and its improvement, but their new
proposal will damage math and science education for Texas high school students.
Currently, the Texas high school Recommended and Distinguished Graduation
Programs require a 4x4 curriculum, that is, four courses of English Language
Arts, Social Studies, Mathematics, and Science. The six gentlemen have proposed
a multiple graduation curricula plan that creates three curricula for the
Recommended and Distinguished High School Graduation Programs. The three
curricula are for students who wish to concentrate in humanities and liberal
arts, career and technology education, and math and science. Two bills filed in
the Texas House, HB 1216 and 1503, by Representatives Fred Brown and Marc
Veasey, contain the details of the proposed multiple curricula plan. Only the
math and science curriculum retains four years of math and science courses. The
humanities and career and technology curricula will go back to the pre-2006
graduation curriculum, three courses each of math and science. Texas Citizens
for Science believes about 20% of Texas students will choose the math and
science option.
The Texas Legislature originally passed the 4x4 curriculum in 2007 with great
bipartisan support. The Texas State Board of Education was also in favor of the
4x4 curriculum and implemented it in 2008. Math and science curriculum experts
and educators, mathematicians, and scientists were in favor of the 4x4
curriculum so that Texas high school graduates would be better prepared for
college and university success upon high school graduation. Curriculum
specialists who wrote the College Readiness Standards specified the curriculum
necessary for high school graduates to be prepared for postsecondary work. The
recommended curriculum requires four years of math and science. Also, students
need to take math and science courses during their senior year to prevent a gap
in learning which will affect their performance in college.
Steven Schafersman, President of Texas Citizens for Science, says, "If the
new legislation becomes law, Texas high school graduation requirements will
revert back to inadequate math and science curricula that have long been
ineffective in preparing students adequately for postsecondary academic
achievement. Student success in colleges and universities will continue to be
low in Texas as proved by the large numbers of students who require remediation,
drop out of college, and perform poorly in courses that require scientific and
quantitative skills. Texas students cannot continue to be shortchanged by
irresponsible meddling that lowers high school graduation requirements,
especially when we are facing immense global competition in industries that
require scientific and quantitative knowledge and skills. Texas is too wealthy
to not prepare our students better for higher education."
The full story of the House bills, the graduation requirements, and the
proposal to change the math and science curriculum to the detriment of Texas
student achievement is contained in an investigative report available on the
Texas Citizens for Science website at the address above.
I would also alert you that there are discussions about revising the Texas Grant from needs-based to merit-based.
These changes would mean that eligibility would change from fulfilling one of the following criteria: a 2.5 GPA, Distinguished or Recommended track, SAT or ACT score)to TWO of the following four (revised) criteria:
a) 3.0 GPA
b) Top 1/3 of class
c) SAT Score (1070) / ACT (23)
d) Distinguished diploma
So this would mean that only ONE of the three diploma tracks proposed by the authors of Common Ground would provide eligibility for Texas Grant aid. Supporters of this change have also confirmed that African American and Latino youth WILL be negatively impacted.
-Patricia
PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
2009 February 21
Contact:
Steven Schafersman
Texas Citizens for Science
tcs@texscience.org
http://www.texscience.org
432-352-2265
Bad Education Bills Have Been Filed in the Texas Legislature That Will Reduce
Math and Science Graduation Requirements
Report link:
http://www.texscience.org/reports/highschool-graduation-curriculum-2009Feb18.htm
Texas Citizens for Science, the advocacy organization that defends the accuracy
and reliability of science education in Texas, has published a new investigative
report on the attempt of six prominent Texans to reduce the high school science
and math graduation requirements for approximately 80% of Texas students. The
six gentlemen are Sandy Kress, Don McAdams, Mike Moses, David Thompson, Jim
Windham, and Bill Ratliff. Some of these gentlemen have in the past performed
outstanding services for Texas education and its improvement, but their new
proposal will damage math and science education for Texas high school students.
Currently, the Texas high school Recommended and Distinguished Graduation
Programs require a 4x4 curriculum, that is, four courses of English Language
Arts, Social Studies, Mathematics, and Science. The six gentlemen have proposed
a multiple graduation curricula plan that creates three curricula for the
Recommended and Distinguished High School Graduation Programs. The three
curricula are for students who wish to concentrate in humanities and liberal
arts, career and technology education, and math and science. Two bills filed in
the Texas House, HB 1216 and 1503, by Representatives Fred Brown and Marc
Veasey, contain the details of the proposed multiple curricula plan. Only the
math and science curriculum retains four years of math and science courses. The
humanities and career and technology curricula will go back to the pre-2006
graduation curriculum, three courses each of math and science. Texas Citizens
for Science believes about 20% of Texas students will choose the math and
science option.
The Texas Legislature originally passed the 4x4 curriculum in 2007 with great
bipartisan support. The Texas State Board of Education was also in favor of the
4x4 curriculum and implemented it in 2008. Math and science curriculum experts
and educators, mathematicians, and scientists were in favor of the 4x4
curriculum so that Texas high school graduates would be better prepared for
college and university success upon high school graduation. Curriculum
specialists who wrote the College Readiness Standards specified the curriculum
necessary for high school graduates to be prepared for postsecondary work. The
recommended curriculum requires four years of math and science. Also, students
need to take math and science courses during their senior year to prevent a gap
in learning which will affect their performance in college.
Steven Schafersman, President of Texas Citizens for Science, says, "If the
new legislation becomes law, Texas high school graduation requirements will
revert back to inadequate math and science curricula that have long been
ineffective in preparing students adequately for postsecondary academic
achievement. Student success in colleges and universities will continue to be
low in Texas as proved by the large numbers of students who require remediation,
drop out of college, and perform poorly in courses that require scientific and
quantitative skills. Texas students cannot continue to be shortchanged by
irresponsible meddling that lowers high school graduation requirements,
especially when we are facing immense global competition in industries that
require scientific and quantitative knowledge and skills. Texas is too wealthy
to not prepare our students better for higher education."
The full story of the House bills, the graduation requirements, and the
proposal to change the math and science curriculum to the detriment of Texas
student achievement is contained in an investigative report available on the
Texas Citizens for Science website at the address above.
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