By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A The Houston schools were good enough to get Superintendent Rod Paige a promotion to Washington. Now they’re good enough to be called the best in the country. The district is the first recipient of the $500,000 Broad Prize for Urban Education, which aims to recognize the best large […]
Page 19A Texas-Oklahoma it ain’t. But the University of Texas at Dallas promises the start of a brand-new athletic rivalry during this month’s homecoming celebrations. The chosen sport: oozeball, a sort of volleyball played in knee-deep mud. In case you’re wondering, no, UTD doesn’t have a football team. On Oct. 23, UTD will sponsor an […]
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A One in an occasional series HOUSTON – Mister Rogers and Nancy Blackwell have something in common. Not long after her 6:45 a.m. arrival at Hambrick Middle School, where she’s principal, Ms. Blackwell switches shoes, from modest heels to sensible flats. “You want to see what kind of principal […]
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A MIDLAND, La. – It sounds like a school calendar Ferris Bueller would dream up: every Friday’s a day off. At Midland High School, in this remote outpost of the south Louisiana prairie, it’s reality. And proponents in several states say it might be a way to score a […]
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 21A Bone-chilling excitement! Nerve-shattering suspense! It’s the blockbuster thriller of the school year, the TAKS test — and it’s now playing in select classrooms near you. Across Texas this week, 118,000 students are taking an advance version of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, the state’s new standardized […]
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A One in an occasional series Students who enroll at Julia C. Frazier Elementary check their last names at the door. All day, they wear their teachers’ last names like adopted kids. “We treat them like our own kids,” said third-grade teacher Leslie City. “We tell them, ‘From 8 […]
Page 17A Yes, the answer really was 7. Sunday’s Dallas Morning News featured the TAAS question missed by the most sophomores (64 percent) on last spring’s test. Lots of readers e-mailed to say we’d gotten it wrong. We didn’t. Unlike the testmasters in Austin, we’ll give you another try. (And a HINT: See italics.) “Rachel’s […]
Page 33A Ever wonder how hard the dreaded TAAS test really is? State officials announced last week how students fared on individual test questions. The one missed by the most sophomores (64 percent) last spring: “Rachel’s house is 12 miles due west of Highway Exit 16B. Keitha’s house is due north of the same exit. […]
Page 33A Hey, ambitious parents! Want to make sure your child has a shot at finding his way inside the ivy walls of Yale, Harvard or Princeton? Send him to Greenhill School. According to a new study by Worth magazine, the Addison private campus is the nation’s 37th best “feeder school” to the three elite […]
Read More… from If you want ivy, Greenhill’s the place to grow
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 31A Texas students are continuing to recover from their traditional weakness in algebra, according to a new set of test scores released Friday. The statewide passing rate jumped from 51 to 60 percent for students who took the Algebra I end-of-course exam in the spring. That’s the biggest one-year […]