When people think of Texas and education, the first thing
that comes to their mind is UT and how bad our education is. Even though Texas has
been a leader among the U.S to improve the quality of public education, it is
facing challenges in preparing students for success. The state’s student
population has become more diverse over the last decade. In addition, The Texas
Education Agency (TEA) reports that 127 languages are spoken by the state’s
schoolchildren. In 1990, the Texas Legislature established the state’s first
accountability system for public education based on school district and campus
ratings tied to certain measurable indicators. The system currently uses TAKS
test scores, alternative test scores for Special Education students, annual
dropout rates and school completion rates. Using these indicators, the system
rates school districts and campuses as “Exemplary,” “Recognized,” “Academically
Acceptable” or “Academically Unacceptable.” According to the TAKS web page on
2011, 21 schools were rated Academically
Unacceptable. 628 were rated Exemplary;
2,317 were rated Recognized; 3,891 were rated Academically Acceptable; 232 were
rated Academically Unacceptable; and 661 were listed as “Not Rated: Other. In addition, Texas has also instituted the
“Student Success Initiative,” which requires students to pass the TAKS reading
assessment or an approved alternate test in third grade to advance to fourth
grade. Students must also meet requirements for reading and mathematics in
fifth grade and in eighth grade to be promoted to the next grade. Also to
stronger graduation requirements, the state has made more college-level courses
available to students in high school. Students are being offered more Advanced
Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses , which provide
college credit if students score high enough on exams. Despite recent progress,
many education and business leaders remain concerned that Texas is not
producing enough high school graduates with the skills needed to succeed in
college or the workplace. To help address this concern the Texas Legislature directed
the State Board of Education (SBOE) to develop college readiness standards and
incorporate them into the TEKS, high school and college faculty are responsible
for developing college readiness standards in English language arts, math,
science and social studies.
Many students are not obtaining the advantages of recent
educational improvements. The most common reason for dropping out is falling
behind in school, the question here is, What can we do as students, parents or Texas
residents to help improve our education?
I came across a post on the bluebonnets’ state government blog posted on Friday, November 30th. The title is “Education in Texas.” I personally believe education is one topic that keeps my attention because I am so passionate about it. The audience that the post is directed towards is individuals just like me, the average person that is concerned with education and children in general.
ReplyDeleteTo attract the audience, the author basically needs to make a strong argument about the injustices that are currently being debated concerning education. The author keeps the audience interested by giving statistic after statistic providing an overwhelming amount of proof of these injustices.
The basic argument is that education needs to be improved and have a much better quality. Education is “facing challenges in preparing students for success.” The assumptions the argument relies on are that the audience is currently aware of the problems with education in Texas and that the audience is just as concerned as the author about the problems with education.
The values held are children and their futures. The author doesn’t clearly state what government should do to improve the current state of education. They don’t provide a solution or a suggestion on how to fix the problem. The important terms regarding the problems education faces are clear. The author provides the proof with statistics.
The argument is supported strongly with hard facts and observable evidence. The statistics given are from credible sources such as the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and web sources that give ratings on test scores. There are also ratings on school districts and campuses. The solid facts give the audience answers to their questions while reading the post. Some may question: just how bad off is education? The good thing about the facts is there is proof of how school districts are attempting to improve education.
I believe the argument was a success because it convinced me that “Texas is not producing enough high school graduates with the skills needed to succeed in college or the workplace.” The argument doesn’t change my mind or beliefs because I currently feel the same way regarding education. The argument reinforces my current beliefs. The conclusion is that regardless of the “recent educational improvements” many students are still failing. They go on to college or the workplace and are unsuccessful or even struggle to keep up.
The political significance is that Texas government should be very concerned with our future generations. This supports my understanding of the way the political world works: which is that education is put on the back burner. The political world’s choices affect the budget. It affects where Texas is actually putting funds that it’s currently cutting from education. The truth is we are all in this together. Let’s elevate our future by putting more funds to invest in education
The blog “the bluebonnet’s state government” posted an article “Education in Texas” to discuss the poor education system for Texan children, and how it affects the future of Texan children and higher education. Texas ranks 50th among the states in the percentage of the population twenty-five or older with a high school diploma, according to Texas on the Brink. The author provides statistic after statistic, which I believe are credible statistics, in their article discussing the state of education in our state.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the article, the Texas legislature created in 1990 the first accountability system in public education for school districts and campuses, which is currently based on “TAKS test scores, alternative test scores for Special Education students, annual dropout rates, and school completion rates.” However, many leaders in the field of education and business are concerned high schools are not producing enough graduates equipped with the skills needed to succeed in college or in the workplace. In response to the concerns expressed, “…the Texas Legislature directed the State Board of Education (SBOE) to develop college readiness standards and incorporate them into the TEKS, high school and college faculty are responsible for developing college readiness standards in English language arts, math, science and social studies.”
Yet children in Texas have fallen behind the rest of the country in education. Texas has the highest percentage of adults twenty-five or older that do not have a high school diploma. What is the reason? According to the article, many students are dropping out of school because they have fallen behind, yet it does not provide analysis for the possible reasons or solutions.
How does federalism keep government closer to the people? Is state government necessarily more responsive to the people than the federal government?
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