Aug 9, 2012

Testing Firm Hits Back Against Claims of Flaws by Morgan Smith The state’s test vendor has fired back at research from a University of Texas at Austin professor that calls into question the method it uses to develop Texas standardized exams, saying that his claims lack factual evidence. Denny Way, the senior vice president for measurement services at...

Nov 24, 2011

by Morgan Smith, The Texas Tribune The Texas Education Agency has released new guidelines that set tough thresholds for school districts hoping to take advantage of special legal exemptions passed by the Legislature and intended to help schools cope with significant budget cuts. A school district’s declaration of  “financial exigency” is necessary to...

by Morgan Smith via The Texas Tribune Since the Legislature’s intention to cut $5.4 billion from public education became a reality, one question has dominated the conversation: just how bad will it be? Not everyone comes up with the same answer. But the Texas American Federation of Teachers, the state branch of the nationwide teachers association, has...

by Ross Ramsey, The Texas Tribune The line to get a driver’s license at one Houston location is so long, according to Tommy Williams, that a guy called in a pizza order, got it delivered to him, and finished eating before he got to the front of the line. Williams, R-The Woodlands, uses the line in a speech, so it might or might not be precisely accurate. But...