The latest Texas Education Agency news from The Texas Tribune.
As the El Paso school district continues to reel from a testing scandal, one district program is focusing on the students who dropped out as a result of pressure from school officials. Full Story
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Thanks to a new law, a consortium of school districts could offer a new way forward as policymakers address the increasingly heated opposition to the state's high-stakes standardized test-based accountability system. Full Story
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More black and Hispanic students in Texas are taking the SAT, but they aren't doing as well, according to a report released Monday by the Texas Education Agency. Full Story
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New Texas Education Agency Commissioner Michael Williams will get a salary bump of about $29,000 over his predecessor, the governor's office confirmed Friday. Full Story
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Texas plans to join the more than 30 states that have already asked for a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind Act's requirements, according to a letter new state Education Commissioner Michael Williams sent school districts Thursday. Full Story
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Only about a quarter of the state's Class of 2012 students are college ready, according to a new report by the ACT. Texas Education Agency officials attribute the numbers to an increase in students taking the test. Full Story
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Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, Texas public schools are supposed to have 100 percent passing rates in reading and math by 2014. The chances of meeting that benchmark are slim. So what happens next? Full Story
In 2011, Texas drastically changed the way it regulates school district purchases of instructional materials. Last week, a new online marketplace opened, giving districts more than 100,000 options to exercise their newfound freedoms. Full Story
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Only 44 percent of Texas schools met No Child Left Behind requirements for 2012. That's a drop from 66 percent last year, meaning many of them will be subject to federal sanctions. Full Story
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Texas is now about to face six lawsuits targeting the way it funds public schools. The Texas Charter School Association announced Tuesday it would join in legal action against the state over school financing. Full Story
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A new state requirement that students must retake standardized tests if they do not achieve a minimum score has landed hundreds of thousands in summer school, carrying a hefty price tag for school districts. Full Story
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In initial results from the new State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, just more than half of students working on a ninth-grade level met the passing standards for writing, while 87 percent passed biology. Full Story
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E. Smith interviews Dan Patrick about John Carona, Root on the race to replace Ron Paul, Batheja on a nest of open House seats in Tarrant County, Aguilar on a border brawl over a congressional seat in El Paso, Tan on the fight over Planned Parenthood in West Texas, Aaronson maps the holes in the state's health care provider network, M. Smith on who might be the next Texas education commissioner, Ramshaw on social media sabotage, Hamilton and Ramshaw on the reaction to news of job insecurity for UT-Austin's president and Grissom on a knickers-twisting historical marker: The best of our best content from May 7 to 11, 2012. Full Story
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With the state government tightening its belt, there are now 10,200 fewer state government employees, according to our latest analysis of data collected by the state auditor’s office. Full Story
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State Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock, R-Killeen, is launching a website to try to kickstart discussion on what will surely be a hot topic in the next legislative session: school accountability. Full Story
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Education Commissioner Robert Scott's successor will have his or her hands full. The job requires a delicate balancing act in regard to state officials and school administrators. So who could get Gov. Rick Perry's nod for the post? Full Story
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Aguilar on the House District 77 primary, Batheja on the HD-101 and SD-9 primaries, Galbraith on the GOP candidates for two Railroad Commission slots, Grissom on the latest in the Kerry Max Cook case, Hamilton on Texas A&M's new accountability website, Murphy and M. Smith on how much superintendents make, Ramsey interviews a would-be Democratic Party chair, Root on that nice Ted Nugent, M. Smith on the resignation of the state's education commissioner and Tan on the continuing court fight over Planned Parenthood: The best of our best content from April 30 to May 4, 2012. Full Story
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On this week's podcast, Ross, Emily, Morgan and Ben weigh the recent resignation of Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott and the back-and-forth court rulings on Planned Parenthood and the Women's Health Program. Full Story
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During the 2011 legislative session, we compiled a salary database of all the state’s highest-paid school administrators: superintendents. After a year and a $5.4 billion reduction in state funding to public education, we are doing it again. Full Story
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Texas Education Agency Commissioner Robert Scott is leaving the post Gov. Rick Perry appointed him to in 2007. Full Story
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