Vast majority meet promotion requirements

The vast majority of Texas fifth and eighth-grade students passed the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) mathematics and reading tests, meeting one of the requirements for promotion to the next grade.  Results show that 87 percent of the fifth-grade students who took the TAKS reading exam in English passed it on their first try.  Eighty-six percent of those tested in English passed the fifth-grade math test. 

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Open letter to our readers from Leslie Milder, Founder, Friends of Texas Public Schools 

I want to offer what may be a rare congratulatory note to you and your team of educators in your school district on a job well done for the public school children of Texas. You are achieving extraordinary results with extraordinary people working in our schools in spite of misinformed critics, malcontents, and self-proclaimed "transformers" who continually attempt to derail your work.

Unfortunately, we are losing this war over public opinion, meaning people believe what they hear. Texans are led to believe that our schools are wasteful and ineffective. Critics are firmly in control, defaming educators and casting wide-spread accusations of failure to promote their hidden agendas. These incessant, mean-spirited attacks on public education are so destructive and pervasive that educators are left wondering if there is any real hope of restoring pride in the education profession and respect to the dialog about it.

We say there is great hope, just as Thomas Paine did in his political declaration Common Sense, which led the energies of the rebels and pointed the way to American independence from England. Paine enunciated the right of the people to challenge unjust laws and government, offering a solution for Americans disgusted and alarmed at the threat of tyranny. We believe there are many parallels between educators today, condemned by blinded reformists, and early Americans, condemned by a blinded Crown. It's time to mobilize our army of 600,000 plus educators, revolution-style, to challenge unjust criticism (peacefully of course). 

Right now you are probably thinking, "Okay... How do you propose we do that?" The solution is a simple one, really. To spark this revolution we need educators to think and act like ambassadors for our schools and to speak well of their profession, which is why we have created an Ambassador Training Academy and motivational speaking series designed to rally educators as ambassadors for their students, themselves, campuses, districts, and profession.    

Click here to read a very kind note written by our friend Graham Sweeney in Boles ISD. We recently had the opportunity to visit with his entire team for a couple of hours during a staff development day. We would welcome the opportunity to meet your team as well. 

Your Chief Ambassador,

Leslie Milder

Founder

Friends of Texas Public Schools

lmilder@fotps.org

Commissioner Kills TPM Factor in Accountability Ratings

In 2011 use of the Texas Projection Measure in the state and federal accountability rating systems will be discontinued. In 2010, performance on the TAKS tests improved in every subject for every student group and an overwhelming majority of the class of 2011 passed the exit-level assessments for graduation. Unfortunately, this success is overshadowed by criticism of the use of the TPM in determining ratings last year, including an assertion made on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives that school ratings in 2010 went up without demonstrations of increases in performance. The commissioner does not want the TPM to continue to detract from the achievements of students and educators.

EDITORIAL NOTE: This is a good move from a public relations standpoint. TPM confuses an already confusing subject and falsely inflates ratings. However, be prepared for the short-term fallout from this decision. Many districts and campuses claimed their ratings in 2010 with TPM. This year, without TPM, many of those district and campus ratings will appear to fall from 2010 to 2011. Be prepared to explain this to your communities.

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Hispanic students now make up majority of students enrolled in Texas public schools

source:  April 2011 TEA Newsletter

For the first time in modern Texas history, Hispanic students now make up a majority of those enrolled in Texas public schools. Newly released enrollment statistics for the 2010-2011 school year show there are 2,480,000 Hispanic students in the public schools, representing 50.2 percent of the total enrollment, which is 4,933,617.

Dual credit courses prove to be a valuable option for students

source:  April 2011 TEA Newsletter
 

A recent study commissioned by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) shows that enrollment in courses for dual credit is increasing across Texas high schools and such courses are per­ceived by dual credit program administrators as providing rigor­ous instruction in core academic subjects. It also recommends that the state should do more to ensure increased student access to quality courses for dual credit.

The study, which looked at three years of data, showed that total state enrollment of public high school students in courses for dual credit rose from 71,803 in 2007-2008 to 94,232 in 2009- 2010, an increase of 31 percent.