Page 33A North Texas home-schooled students can now get an honor from someone other than their parents. The first local chapter of Eta Sigma Alpha, an honor society for home-schooled students, is ready to launch. The group is open to high school-age students with a grade point average of 3.5 or better and high scores […]
Category: DMN | Education
UT case shows risk of using Social Security for ID Information of 55,000 people stolen in database hacking
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A As long as universities continue to use Social Security numbers to identify students, there will be crimes like last week’s computer hacking at the University of Texas, experts say. “I am 100 percent opposed to any college using Social Security numbers that way,” said Jay Foley, director of […]
Teachers thwart closure of retirement loophole; House vote allows Texas educators to draw both pension, Social Security
By Todd J. Gillman Staff Writer Page 22A WASHINGTON – Texas teachers rounded up enough friends Wednesday to stop Congress from closing a loophole that lets them change jobs for one day in order to collect both Social Security and a teacher’s pension. Texans covered by the state’s teacher retirement system generally can’t collect Social […]
TAKS gets at least one wrong on new tests
Page 23A Texas is one week into the TAKS era, and already there has been a snag. About 5,000 copies of Tuesday’s third-grade Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills repeated the same question. The error occurred on one of the 56 versions of the reading test distributed to students. The versions all feature the same […]
A lesson in consequences; Texas’ effort against social promotion faces a test; TAKS scores to dictate who moves on, but exceptions are possible
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A Sherri Corum knows what fear looks like in the eyes of a third-grader. “On test day, some of them come in with this blank look on their face,” said Ms. Corum, a third-grade teacher at Plano’s Weatherford Elementary. “You can tell they’re scared they might not do well.” […]
No school means not taking TAKS; Test will be waiting when students return after weather closings
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 25A The weather has done what a million hopeful students could not: stop the TAKS test. Temporarily, at least. Tuesday was supposed to be the debut of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills in Texas – and across much of the state, it was. But more than 100 […]
It’s TAKS time for schools; State estimates say tougher test could mean many failures
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A A new hurdle to high school graduation goes up on Tuesday. That’s the day 11th-graders will take the first Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. State estimates say almost 150,000 of them could fail the test. Starting next school year, students will be required to pass it to […]
NBA’s Robinson builds legacy off the court in San Antonio; Spurs star is giving minorities, poor an elite education at his school
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A One in an occasional series SAN ANTONIO – David Robinson looms large wherever he goes. Being a 7-foot-1-inch multimillionaire and one of the most famous centers in basketball history will do that to a man. But to an 8-year-old getting a world-class education because of his generosity, he’s […]
Plan targets kids with weak English; Schools face action if tests show they lag behind fluent classmates
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 19A It can be easy for children who can’t speak English to get pushed to a school’s margins. Texas’ new federal accountability system will make that a lot more difficult. The new system, partially unveiled last week, puts unprecedented pressure on schools to look after students whose command of […]
Report: After-school programs don’t help kids much; Bush requests 40% cut in funding; supporters say more time needed
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 12A After-school programs – touted as a way to bring up test scores and keep children out of trouble – do little to help kids academically, according to a new federal study released Monday. They might even encourage bad behavior. Partially as a result of the study’s findings, the […]