The Texas Education Code requires the Texas Education Agency to submit a comprehensive biennial report containing a summary of information related to grade level retention of students in the Texas public school system. This report looks at retention in Texas based on data collected over a 3-year period, beginning with the 1993-94 school year. The…

This study examined issues affecting teacher shortages in Texas, noting how school districts were dealing with it. The research focused on whether district size, ethnic student makeup, or district property wealth would make a difference in a school district's ability to recruit and retain quality teachers. A two-part questionnaire was mailed to…

Discusses a study comparing experiences of Minnesota student teachers working in Texas and in Minnesota, looking for connections between cross-cultural experiences and attitudes toward multicultural teaching. Self-assessment questionnaires indicated that Texas students were willing to demonstrate multicultural competencies whereas Minnesota…

For improving participation of blacks and Hispanics in higher education, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board focuses on changing institutions rather than removing barriers. Initiatives have included recruitment, college dropout prevention, and dissemination of institution-specific participation and achievement data. Follow-up site visits…

Explores the effectiveness of distance learning and multimedia technologies in facilitating an expanded learning community between geographically separated elementary and secondary schools with Hispanic students in Texas. Highlights include the Cultural Connections program; teacher collaboration; curricular activities; identity-forming…

The verdict in the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) case undermined the concept of educational equity by equating it with sameness. Testimony was excluded that revealed bureaucratic processes creating new inequities: overemphasis on test preparation and manipulation of students' grade level designations to artificially improve…

The authors of this study discuss past research, litigation, and legislation pertaining to the topic of parental involvement in special education. In particular, the study examined parental perceptions of their roles as communicators and decision makers in the special education process in terms of ethnicity and child's educational level. Very few…

This paper examines the interactions between teachers and children based on a micro-ethnographic study of an early childhood classroom in which the teacher attempts to scaffold children's learning. The attempts at scaffolding are subverted by children as they resist the teacher's endeavors to modify their play. Teacher's attempts at scaffolding,…

This multi-site case study examined the relationships and interactions among school professionals, parents, and a faith-based institution striving to create viable learning communities in the Texas Borderlands. Through a school-community partnership known as the Texas Alliance School Initiative, two sample schools collaborated with the El Paso…

This is the 2011 Yearbook of the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration (NCPEA). This Yearbook contains five parts. Part I, Invited Chapters, includes: (1) NCPEA President's Message, 2011 (Gary W. Kinsey); (2) Shadows and Images II (Lloyd Duvall); and (3) Micropolitics in the School: Teacher Leaders' Use of Political Skill…

This report examines efforts by 12 formerly segregated states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia) to desegregate their higher education systems and increase educational opportunities for black and other minority students. It found that none of the…

Longitudinal dropout rates (LDR's) for public school students and LDR's of pupil membership by ethnic group based on two Texas Education Agency reports are estimated. LDR's are calculated for the state, by school district size, for the 21 largest districts, and by average high school size. Findings dispel the prevalent perception of the dropout…

Reports the results of a simulation-based analysis of Black and Hispanic public school teacher employment in Texas. The simulation reflects recently instituted teacher testing requirements in mathematics and language competence and projects how the program is likely to affect the racial-ethnic composition of public school teachers in Texas over…

This newsletter theme issue includes five articles on migrant education and migrant students. "Creative Educational Opportunities for Migrant Students" (Abelardo Villarreal, Anita Tijerina Revilla) discusses the need to increase high school graduation rates among migrant students, the high dropout rate and low standardized test scores of…

This report provides an overview of Texas enrollment trends and growth of special instructional programs, and redistribution of the student population geographically and by community type. National enrollment trends are also presented. In the 10 years from 1987-88 to 1997-98, Texas public school enrollment increased at a faster rate than national…