By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1B The Texas Education Agency believes it has every right to intervene in the troubled Wilmer-Hutchins schools, and it plans to fight a judge’s order throwing it out of the district. “We’re trying to act quickly and put together a response,” said Ron Rowell, the TEA’s senior director of […]
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1B Former Wilmer-Hutchins Superintendent Charles Matthews was indicted Tuesday in a case involving allegations that he ordered employees to falsify attendance data. The indictment by a Dallas County grand jury is the second in the last five months for Dr. Matthews, a former state superintendent of the year. His […]
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A The number of “academically unacceptable” schools in Texas could grow by a factor of 10 under a tougher set of standards approved by a Texas Education Agency committee. There are now 92 Texas schools labeled unacceptable, the state’s lowest rating. But if the proposed new rules had been […]
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A The Wilmer-Hutchins school board will soon be out of work. State Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley has decided to dissolve the troubled district’s board because state investigators found widespread cheating by teachers on the state’s TAKS test. The investigation – prompted by a series of Dallas Morning News stories […]
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A Giving a high-stakes test to 10-year-olds is proving more complicated than state officials may have expected. One of every four fifth-graders failed the TAKS reading test last month, officials announced Friday. That’s slightly better than last year. But this is the first year students have to pass the […]
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1B I’d like to apologize in advance for the quality of this column. I just ask that you keep in mind that I have the writing ability of a below-average 15-year-old. But more about that later. On Saturday, thousands of nervous high school kids will line up their No. […]
Read More… from Column: Standardized essay might be formula for bad writing
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A State officials could try to kick the Wilmer-Hutchins school board out of office as soon as May if board members don’t improve their attitude, according to a new state report. But the board’s president said the report is just the latest sign of a “major conspiracy” that seeks […]
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1B More than 70 state employees turned out at Wilmer-Hutchins schools on Tuesday to ensure that there was no cheating on the first day of TAKS testing. State officials said it was probably the largest test-monitoring effort the Texas Education Agency has launched. “We wanted to give the kids […]
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1B Long after leaving the district, at least one former Wilmer-Hutchins employee stayed on the payroll, according to a state management team report. The report also states that the district has had problems maintaining proper controls in its human resources and payroll departments, and that has sometimes led to […]
Read More… from W-H pay lapses detailed; Report: At least 1 former employee kept getting money
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A AUSTIN – The Texas Education Agency will begin analyzing test scores for unusual gaps and swings, modeling the effort on a Dallas Morning News investigation that found suspect scores at nearly 400 Texas schools. The state’s education commissioner, Shirley Neeley, also announced Monday that the agency will hire […]