By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 11H Once a child enters third grade in Texas, his parents get an objective, annual look at how he’s doing: the state standardized test. Tests have changed over the years – from TABS to TEAMS to TAAS to TAKS – but since the 1980s there have been hard data […]
Year: 2002
St. Rita to screen students’ parents; School policy requires background checks on all as safety measure
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 35A If you want your child to attend St. Rita Catholic School this fall, be prepared to answer a few tough questions. For the first time, the northern Dallas school is asking all of its parents to undergo a background check before the school year starts. Other area Catholic […]
School district ratings decline; But more campuses earn high marks; area rankings stay same
By Terrence Stutz and Joshua Benton Staff Writers Page 1A Performance ratings for Texas school districts declined for the first time in several years in 2002 as middle-school students came up short in their knowledge of government and history. But collective marks for individual campuses were up over last year as a record number of […]
Education research is under the microscope; Quality of data crucial as schools base more decisions on studies
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A Education research has been a punching bag for decades – largely for good reason. Streams of studies serve up contradictory facts. Anecdotes and hearsay are often as prominent as hard data. And some scholars, motivated by ideology, seem to reach their conclusions before the research even starts. “When […]
Trying to turn tide of dropouts; Perry, Sanchez tout plans that capitalize on tested methods
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 41A When the Education Commission of the States moved offices not long ago, Kathy Christie came across an old storage box and a lot of bad memories. “The entire box will filled with nothing but information on state dropout prevention efforts from the 1980s,” said Ms. Christie, vice president […]
State hires educator to keep kids in school
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 41A Not long ago, a woman in her late 20s came up to Paul Cruz, the Laredo school superintendent. She wanted to say thanks. Thanks for the teachers who had taken an interest in her, years after she dropped out of high school. The teachers who had persuaded her […]
Jackson says he can transfer skills; Longtime politician’s supporters say he’s a good fit for UNT post
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 23A This time, Lee Jackson got the job. The Dallas County judge had been up for top education posts three times before: twice for superintendent of Dallas’ school system and once for Texas education commissioner. Each time, the job went to someone with more experience in education. But the […]
Irony marks teachers’ meeting; Largest union in nation begins annual gathering in state that shuns label
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 17A Ten thousand members of America’s largest teachers union are in Dallas this week. But if they start looking for the union label, they could be searching a while. That’s because Texas’ teachers unions are among the nation’s weakest. A combination of state laws and large nonunion competitors has […]
New teachers’ grasp of material criticized; Federal report stresses subject mastery over classroom technique
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A Too many teachers make it into American classrooms without knowing the material they’re teaching, according to a new report issued by the U.S. Department of Education. “Smart teachers with solid content knowledge have the greatest effect on student achievement,” said Rod Paige, the secretary of education and former […]
Social studies may hurt school ratings; TAAS scores in subject count for first time, so some expect to slip
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A Jerry Cook has a PR job to do in the coming months. The Duncanville school superintendent must explain to the public why his district will drop from “recognized” to “acceptable” in the state’s eyes, even though nearly all of its standardized test scores improved this year. “It’s frustrating, […]