Page 2B For the first time, the average Texas public school teacher makes more than $40,000 a year, according to an annual survey released last week. But teacher salaries are growing at the slowest pace in at least a decade. The study – jointly conducted by the Texas Association of School Boards and the Texas […]
Category: DMN | Education
Column: Computers not a classroom cure-all
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1B It’s pop quiz time. Fill in the blanks: What technological advances are these people talking about? 1. “I believe that _________ is destined to revolutionize our educational system.” 2. “The time may come when a _________ will be as common in the classroom as is the blackboard.” 3. […]
Texan finds Iraq a learning experience; Former education chief tapped to help rebuild tattered school system
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A When war loomed in Iraq, Karen Nelson briefly considered the possibility that one of her three grown sons could face compulsory military service. “But I didn’t think their 53-year-old father would be the one drafted,” she said. He wasn’t drafted, exactly, but former Texas Education Commissioner Jim Nelson […]
Column: True dropout rate? It takes calculating
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1B Traditionally, Aristotle is given credit for formulating something called the Law of Non-Contradiction. It holds that two contradictory ideas cannot both be true at the same time. As a test case, let’s take a look at the Houston school district: * Houston ISD’s official annual dropout rate is […]
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Letting good teachers fix bad schools; Chattanooga’s incentives, shuffling of educators boost urban campuses
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A In 2001, Bob Corker was elected Chattanooga’s mayor, not its school superintendent. But he knew that the future of Tennessee’s fourth-largest city was tied to its schools. And he knew that the old ways of distributing teachers – shipping the least qualified to the worst central-city schools – […]
Will they get in? Five fake kids apply to five real colleges
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 8H Each spring, millions of letters arrive in the mailboxes of high school seniors. Some are thin and panic-inducing. Others are fat and party-starting. But not many students ever find out how their college applications went down the path to acceptance or denial. To offer some insight to the […]
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Range of school data sources as close as a click
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 14H How well are kids learning at your child’s school? There’s probably no simple answer. But in an era of standardized testing and school accountability systems, there’s plenty of data to provide at least some objective answers for public school parents. (Private school parents should also ask their principals […]
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Across the state, a teacher divide; Study: Veteran, certified educators aren’t going where they’re needed
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A Poor kids. Kids who can’t speak English well. Kids stuck in low-performing schools. Often, they’re the students most in need of highly qualified, experienced teachers. But according to a new statewide analysis by The Dallas Morning News, they’re also the students least likely to have them. The study […]
Experts differ on certification’s impact
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 26A The Dallas Morning News’ analysis of state data shows that schools with lots of disadvantaged kids are likely to have high percentages of uncertified teachers. But does that matter? The researchers seem to think so. Most education research on the subject indicates a link between teacher certification and […]
TPI: Q&A, Methodology, and How to become a teacher in Texas
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Questions and answers about TPI Q: My child’s school has a low TPI. What does that mean? A: It means that, compared with other schools in Texas, your school doesn’t have as many experienced, certified teachers teaching in their fields of specialty. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad school. […]
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