education

TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

By Ross Ramsey Jan. 14, 2012

Tan and Root on the Texas presidential candidates returning to the state where Rick Perry started his campaign, Philpott on Perry's swipes at Mitt Romney, Ramshaw on Griffin Perry's tweets, M. Smith on the next round of fights over student testing, E. Smith's TribLive interview with Michael Quinn Sullivan, yours truly on the sliding primary election calendar, Hamilton on higher-education efforts to bolster the Texas work force, Grissom's interview with John Raley, Galbraith on the greenhouse gas wars and Aguilar on making it easier for immigrants to return to the U.S.: The best of our best content from January 9 to 13, 2012. Full Story

Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman
Weekend Insider: Redistricting, For-Profit Teacher Certification

By Justin Dehn Nov. 24, 2011

In this episode of Weekend Insider, Executive Editor Ross Ramsey describes where Texas' legislative redistricting stands, and reporter Morgan Smith explains how Texas became the industry leader in for-profit alternative teacher certification. Full Story
Interactive: Budget Cuts Continue to Shrink Texas State Government

By Becca Aaronson Nov. 3, 2011

This interactive shows the dramatic drop in employment at Texas state agencies from the third quarter of fiscal year 2011 to the last quarter, right before $15 billion in cuts to the 2012-2013 biennium budget kicked in Sept. 1. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
Randy Neugebauer: The TT Interview

By Elizabeth Titus Nov. 1, 2011

The GOP congressman from Lubbock on Gov. Rick Perry, cuts in direct payments that could be headed for Texas farmers, his hopes for the supercommittee and what the 2012 elections will say about Americans' view of the economy. Full Story
School Dropouts, Politicians and the Funny Arithmetic of State Budgets

By Ross Ramsey Oct. 28, 2011

Every time a student drops out of public school, taxpayers save money. That’s one fewer student, at an annual savings of more than $11,000 per year from state and local sources. Full Story
Schooling the GOP

By Morgan Smith Oct. 27, 2011

As the field of candidates shapes up for the March 2012 primaries, a new — at least since last election cycle — breed of GOP hopeful is emerging: the education Republican. Full Story

Credit: Todd Wiseman
2011 Texas Tribune Festival Keynote: Margaret Spellings

By Todd Wiseman Oct. 6, 2011

Full video of the keynote speech by former U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings in the Public and Higher Education track at the 2011 Texas Tribune Festival. Full Story
Once Again, Texas Faces Lawsuits Over How It Funds Its Schools

By Morgan Smith Oct. 6, 2011

The lawsuits over public education funding that are currently taking shape will be the latest in a long history of court intervention in Texas' school finance system. But how much can the judiciary do to fix it? Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
TribLive: Sharp on In-State Tuition for Immigrants

By Evan Smith Sept. 29, 2011

At this morning's TribLive conversation, Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp defended the state law allowing college-bound children of undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition. Full Story
Liveblog: Public and Higher Education at The Texas Tribune Festival

By Reeve Hamilton, Morgan Smith and David Muto Sept. 24, 2011

We'll be liveblogging throughout the weekend from The Texas Tribune Festival's public and higher education track — which includes panels on the role research should play at state universities and how to pay for public education. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Ben Hasson
Texas Schools Feeling Effects of Drought, Fires

By Lara Lapin Sept. 20, 2011

The drought and extreme heat are taking their toll on school districts across Texas. Costly problems include cracks in building foundations, increased maintenance costs and loss of vegetation. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
News App: The Texas Public Schools Database

By Ryan Murphy and Noah Seger Aug. 24, 2011

With the Tribune’s Texas Public Schools Database, parents, students and other readers can access key academic, financial and administrative information about every public school district and campus in the state. Full Story
Video: 31 Days, 31 Ways: Fewer Classes for Incarcerated Texans

By Justin Dehn Aug. 23, 2011

DAY 23 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: The state's prison education system, known as the Windham School District, eliminates or reduces classes for inmates. Full Story
31 Days, 31 Ways: Fewer Classes, Teachers for Incarcerated Texans

By Thanh Tan Aug. 23, 2011

DAY 23 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: The state's prison education system, known as the Windham School District, eliminates or reduces classes for Texas inmates. Full Story

Credit: Windham School District
31 Days, 31 Ways: Lawmakers Help Charter Schools Build, Expand

By Thanh Tan Aug. 20, 2011

DAY 20 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: Financially stable charter schools will have an easier time seeking lower interest rate loans to expand or build their facilities. Full Story

Credit: Justin Dehn
31 Days, 31 Ways: Students Switch from TAKS to STAAR

By Morgan Smith and Thanh Tan Aug. 8, 2011

DAY 8 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: Armed with fewer resources, educators prepare students for rigorous new STAAR test. Full Story

Credit: Texas Education Agency / The Texas Tribune
School Ratings "Far More Accurate" — and Lower

By Morgan Smith Aug. 4, 2011

The vise squeezing Texas schools since the Legislature voted to remove $4 billion in state funding is getting a little tighter. Full Story

Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera
Anxiety Over STAAR Persists as New School Year Looms

By Kelsey Sheridan July 29, 2011

A new standardized testing system will replace the TAKS exam this year, and as Kelsey Sheridan of KUT News reports, the switch to more difficult tests comes as schools are already grappling with reduced budgets. Full Story

Credit: Shannan Muskopf
Visualizing Days of Lege Debate: Education

By Becca Aaronson July 19, 2011

It took a series of often rancorous debates this session to reach agreement on how to finance public education for 2012-2013. Use the Trib's latest interactive to track what lawmakers said about Texas education. Full Story

Credit: Graphic by Becca Aaronson / Todd Wiseman
Report Questions How Texas Schools Mete Out Discipline

By Morgan Smith and Ari Auber July 19, 2011

Almost 55 percent of recent Texas public school students were suspended at least once between their seventh and 12th grade years, according to a statewide report released today. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman