Future of Texas Classrooms: What to Watch in 89th Lege
With Texas’ booming population and economy comes a need to invest?in the critical factors of Texas' long-term success —?notably public education.
Fortunately, Texas’ historic budget surplus?gives lawmakers a unique opportunity to make meaningful investments in education and workforce readiness programs, paving the way for greater opportunities for every Texan.
What Are Voters Saying??Improve Career Readiness
In November's Texas Voter Poll — Texas 2036's?flagship survey of statewide opinions — voters voiced concerns about the next generation's readiness for the jobs of the future and they?want action now to get young Texans ready.
61%?
didn't think Texas?high school grads are ready to enter and succeed in the workforce of the future.
91%
?thought that Texas high school students should have access to the workforce training programs that would ready them for a good job.
79%
?favored earlier parental notification that their child is behind in math. This does not happen now until the end of third grade; our poll found support for doing this as early as kindergarten.
We're watching for what lawmakers will do this year on support to families for educational expenses, including tuition at private schools. Texas voters, though, tell us the state needs to continue rigorous accountability standards.
71%?
want students who receive state funds to attend private schools to take tests similar to their public school counterparts.
How much do we spend on public education?
The Senate and House released their base budgets this week which will guide budget writers' work over the coming weeks and months. Here's what each chamber would spend?on public education:
Want to know how much the Legislature might spend? Our budget policy director Rahul Sreenivasan talked to KXAN-TV about the base budgets.
A six point agenda to advance education in Texas
1. Early literacy?
Lawmakers have the opportunity to improve student success tomorrow by closing reading gaps today and?investing early in students’ academic success — saving the state and families from expensive remediation efforts later.
Why this matters: Only 46% of Texas third graders are reading on grade level. For students experiencing economic disadvantage, this rate falls to 36%.
2. Early math education
What lawmakers do this year to address the lack of math readiness will have wide-reaching, generational effects for K-3 students in Texas public schools.Why this matters:?59% of Texas students are below grade level in math. In every grade, Texas students remain below pre-pandemic math achievement.
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3.?Assessments and accountability are important
?State assessments provide an essential and objective measure of student performance and provide key information to support student learning, enabling parents and policymakers to make data-driven decisions to improve outcomes.
Why this matters:?Nearly 90% of parents think their children are performing at grade level. But only 47% of Texas students are actually meeting expectations.
4.?Transforming post-graduation opportunities
To build the skilled and competitive workforce that our state needs as the 8th largest economy in the world, Texas must strengthen the value of our PK-12 education and reimagine what the high school experience can look like.
Why this matters: Just 29% of Texas voters believe that high school students are graduating ready to find a job and succeed in the future economy.
5.?Improving rural career readiness
New initiatives to better support strong outcomes for rural students and bolster local rural economies are increasingly popular. Lawmakers this session can move to ensure more districts can take part in these efforts.
Why this matters: In one district (Freer ISD), students graduating college, career and military ready jumped?52.9 percentage points?from 2017 to 2023; dual credit completion rates rose 39.2 percentage points.
Learn more: How Texas Lege 2025 Can Invest In Rural Students
6. Supporting our teachers
Nearly 3.7 million Texas students attend schools with an approved teacher incentive allotment (TIA) system; early adopters are seeing promising results in student achievement. Lawmakers can act this year to expand this program.
Why this matters: Teachers in TIA districts are 8 percentage points more likely to continue teaching in their district.
Coming Next Week: The Nation’s Report Card
Every two years, students across the country take the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in reading and mathematics — often called The Nation’s Report Card?— with 2024 results due out on Jan. 29. For a more detailed deep dive into the Nation’s Report Card and what to look for in this year’s data, check out Gabe Grantham’s latest piece on what the numbers could tell us about the state of math education in the Lone Star State.
Meet our ed policy team!
And read what's being written about our ed policy work:
Let us know what you think!
Do you think high school grads are ready to enter and succeed in the workforce of the future? If not, we want to hear from you on a solution.?
Texas Business Champion | 15X Texas Supreme Court Protecting Property Rights | Deep knowledge of Contractor & Insurance Playbooks | Institutional : MultiFam : Medical : High Rises : University : Education : Bad Faith
1 个月Texas 2036 A.J. Rodriguez appreciate all you do for our great State of Texas !
People, performance, operations, regulatory affairs and other compliance, risk & operations management attorney for health, insurance, employee benefits & other performance reliant business & government organizations.
1 个月Did you survey parents to discuss their concerns about school, safety, bullying, and other distractions that prevent kids from learning in school. In my experience, these concerns are at the forefront of every parent agenda.
Sr. Communications Manager, Texas 2036
1 个月LOVE that our weekly newsletter continues to be a great resource on issues like ED & Workforce. ??