Recent Posts
- Texas Charter School Association Rally
- Capitol Update 04.24.13
Capitol Update 04.24.13
April 29, 2013Current Status of Education Reform Bills
During the legislative session, several bills have been filed that embody the principles of TIER and its allies, Texans Deserve Great Schools and Texans for Education reform.
With just over four weeks left in the session, key legislative deadlines are quickly approaching. Below is a recap of where these important bills stand and a brief description of the key reform elements included in each (status is current as of 4/24/13 unless otherwise noted).
Bills...
Read more
Moran, Torres: Don’t lower education standards
April 25, 2013Our friends at the Texas Chapter of LULAC wrote this great editorial that
appeared in today’s Austin American Statesman. It is a Must Read!
Read more
Does HB 5 Shortchange Our Kids?
April 15, 2013
Does HB 5 Shortchange Our Kids?
There is a battle going on over whether all students need a solid academic and rigorous high school education or whether students would benefit from more applied career training in high school. The two goals are not mutually exclusive. Students benefit from both rigorous academic and advanced vocational courses in high school. The key is to not water down academics and lower expectations of all students.
A solid foundation of academic courses and a menu of high...
Read more
Capitol Update 04.01.13
April 5, 2013Texas House Passes House Bill 5
Last week the Texas House passed HB 5. While TIER and our allies agree with several provisions of the bill, we cannot support lowering student expectations or graduation standards.
On the positive side, HB 5 provides that districts and schools will be graded the same as our students—on and “A” to “F” basis. The bill leaves much discretion to the Commissioner of Education, and Commissioner Williams recently told the Senate Education Committee that he plans to ado...
Read more
HB5—Important Ways To Keep Texas Competitive
March 26, 2013
March 25, 2013
Members of the Texas House of Representatives
P.O. Box 2910
Austin, Texas 78768-2910
Dear Mr. Speaker and Members,
The Texas Institute for Education Reform (TIER) respectfully opposes CSHB 5 by Chairman Aycock. We do support many components of the bill—such as “A” to “F” school district ratings, provisions to measure and report district financial performance to the public, and the provisions to provide more robust academic options for high school students. However, we fe...
Read more
Legislators move to reduce exams for Texas students
March 21, 2013Houston Chronicle
Legislators move to reduce exams for Texas students
By Ericka Mellon | March 20, 2013 | Updated: March 20, 2013 10:22pm
Bills recently passed in the Senate and House education committees would require students to pass five end-of-course exams to graduate, down from 15. Under either measure, students no longer would have to take the tests in upper-level courses such as Algebra II, chemistry and 11th-grade English. Read More
Read more
Business leaders alarmed by new effort to abandon Texas learning standards
March 5, 2013Press Release
Anti-testing group makes stunning call Wednesday for Legislature to abandon Texas standards, use Iowa and other national standards instead
Move would break federal law by ending annual testing
We cannot afford to retreat from state efforts to better prepare all school children for college and the workforce,” business leader urges
Business leaders alarmed by new effort to abandon Texas learning standards
Read more
Statement regarding Judge Dietz’s ruling in the Texas public school finance lawsuit
February 28, 2013
February 04, 2013
AUSTIN, TEXAS – The following statement regarding Judge Dietz’s ruling in the Texas public school finance lawsuit should be attributed Andy Erben, President of the Texas Institute for Education Reform and a member of Texans Deserve Great Schools:
“Today’s ruling from Judge Dietz doesn’t change the fact that Texas schools’ most pressing need is not money. It is the ability to implement proven, best practices to dramatically improve the preparation of our school children for the 21st century economy.“
“Meaningful reform is not primarily about money. Instead, the only long-term solution to improving education is to implement a comprehensive system of best practices and policies from high-performing schools and school districts from around the country.“
“A...
Read more