As Texas Schoolkids Get Poorer and Poorer, Reading Instruction – and Leadership From Austin – Must Improve

Public school instruction in Texas must catch up with the needs of a student population that's becoming poorer and poorer.That's the urgent message out of preliminary results from the most recent state accountability testing, which showed a drop in students' reading and writing abilities.Only unwavering leadership from Austin and sustained smart efforts in every school district will reverse this dead-end trend.We have long argued that academic outcomes must improve, both for the sake of Texas children and the sake of the state's economic future. Yet schools too often continue to lose ground.  Continue reading...