Texas Lone Star - June 2010

Nonfiction Makes Better Reading
The Fact Is That Texas Public Schools Are Succeeding Like Never Before

by Roger White

Kids these days.

How many times have you heard that in conversation?

Well, I’ll tell you something: These days, kids—and their public schools—are doing very well, thank you. Despite severe economic hardships, consistent bashing by mainstream media, politicians, special-interest groups, and those who carry narrow agendas and sharpened axes, as well as an ever-shifting legislative and regulatory landscape, the public schools and students of Texas and the nation continue to raise the bar in achievement and accountability.

Here’s just a sample:
• Texas is the first—and so
far, only—state to meet all
the American Diploma
Project’s five key college
and career readiness
measures, according to a
March announcement by
Achieve, a national
bipartisan organization.

schools in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best High Schools rankings, released late last year.

Nine other Texas schools made the Top 100 list.

• The Texas ACT composite score reached an all-time high in 2009, as did the number of students tested.

• Texas was recognized in April by the College Board as one of 20 states with the greatest percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on Advanced Placement (AP) exams.

And the good news comes not just from the traditional “high-achieving” schools and districts. Remarkable success stories—on individual, campus, and district levels— are transpiring all across this great state. Take Davis High School in Houston ISD, for example. Davis High’s graduation rate climbed from 59.3 percent in 2004–05 to 68.2 percent in 2007–08, and the estimates for determining the school’s Adequate Yearly Progress status were 75 percent in 2008–09 and 80 percent or more this school year.

The stories aren’t just about academic scores or statistics, either. Success and accomplishment can be extremely personal, as well. Take the compassion shown by English language learner students in a Harris County Department of Education civics class, who chose to help the Haitian earthquake victims as part of their community service project. These students, many of whom face serious financial challenges of their own, raised more than $1,100 for Haitian relief.

Unfortunately, it seems the
bits of bad news continually
outweigh the bounty of good
news that comes from our
public schools. The nature of
news apparently dictates that
crisis and controversy rate
page one, while accomplish-
ment and accolades become
buried in the back pages.