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WEBii.net has provided highly reliable
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WEBii offers continual web site development
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Sustaining Sponsors
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Here is the good news
for January 2009.
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Human history becomes more and more
a race between education and
catastrophe. - H. G. Wells
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American students show
steady progress in Math, rank high in
international education comparison
source: U.S. Department of
Education
American students in grades four and
eight showed steady improvements in
mathematics since 1995 and generally
rank at least in the top one-third
compared to other countries,
according to an international
education comparison released
today. In the latest report of the
Trends in International Mathematics
and Science Study (TIMSS), the
ongoing evaluation of 36 to 48
countries revealed that in 2007 the
U.S. consistently rated at least in
the top one-third and in some cases
the top one-fourth of participating
nations.
In 2007, the average U.S.
fourth-grade math score was
higher than those of students in
23 of 35 other countries and
among eighth-graders was higher
than students in 37 of 47 other
countries. According to the
study, the eighth-grade gap in
mathematics between white and
Hispanic U.S. students narrowed
by 15 points -- about 20 percent
-- since 1995. Similarly, a
bigger gap between white and
black fourth-graders narrowed by
approximately 20 points
and between white and black
eight-graders by 21 points.
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Schools Given Greater
Flexibility to Address Health or
Safety Emergencies
Following the tragic April
2007 shootings at Virginia
Tech, the U.S. Department of
Education published in
today's Federal Register
final regulations to clarify
and give schools greater
flexibility in making
determinations about
disclosures of information
from students' education
records in order to address
threats to the health or
safety of students or other
individuals. The department
published draft regulations
March 24.
These changes
to the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
regulations are in response
to the June 2007, "Report to
the President on Issues
Raised by the Virginia Tech
Tragedy," written after U.S.
Secretary of Education
Margaret Spellings, U.S.
Secretary of Health and
Human Services Mike Leavitt
and former U.S. Attorney
General Alberto Gonzalez
conducted a listening tour
across the nation. The
report concluded that
additional guidance needed
to be developed regarding
when and how information can
be shared in an emergency,
especially with regard to
the parents of college
students. The new
regulations provide that
guidance and clarify that
colleges may share
information with students'
parents in many
circumstances.
read more
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Texas scores
higher than national average
source: Education
Week
January 8, 2009
Texas educational performance and
policies have earned the state a
passing grade in the annual
Education Week report released
today. The state earned a C-plus
overall, while the nation as a whole
earned a C.
Education Week, a national education
newspaper, and the Editorial
Projects in Education Research
Center track the public school
performance and policy-making of the
country and states in an annual
report called Quality Counts.
According to the
overall performance indicators
involving all students, Texas does a
good job of advancing students from
one grade level to the next (a B,
compared with the nation's C) and
holding schools to standards,
assessments and accountability (a
B-plus compared with the nation's
B).
Texas was
passing in student achievement in
kindergarten through 12th grade,
with a C; but the nation posted a
D-plus in the crucial area.
see details on edweek.org
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"Be Proud" fact #3 - Texas
schools among Top 10 in nutrition
program
SOURCE:
http://www.frac.org/pdf/SBP_2007.pdf
Ninety-nine percent of Texas schools
participate in the National School
Breakfast Program, making Texas
seventh best in the nation,
according to a report by the
National Food Research and Action
Center. The School Breakfast
Scorecard 2007 also finds that more
than a million low-income Texas
children are eating breakfast at
school.
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Bumper stickers
now available!
At only $1.00 each, why not buy one
for every public education graduate you
know?
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Test your TAKS readiness
The following question is taken from the
11th grade TAKS test.
Compounds with the same chemical composition
may have different densities because they -
A. have differences in reactivity
B. are able to bond with oxygen
C. vary in solubility
D. exist in different phases
answer: D |
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Common myths about public education
Source: Debunking Seven Myths About
Public Education
By Molly A. Hunter and Matthew Samberg
MYTH: The U.S. Spends
More on Education than Other
Nations
Among the 30 countries
of the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development - a
body that comprises the world's
most affluent nations - the
United States ranks fourth in
per pupil spending on K-12
education; this is not an
unreasonable position to hold.
In addition, about 8 percent of
U.S. education spending is for
health insurance, while other
nations account for these costs
in their health systems.
Finally, if one instead looks at
preprimary-secondary education
expenditures as percent of GDP,
which some economists think is a
better measure of education
spending, the United States
falls to 14th.
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Our Mission
The mission of Friends of Texas Public
Schools, the leading voice of optimism
and hope for our public school family,
is to ensure positive and constructive
conversation about public schools by
educating Texans through honest
communication, productive dialogue, and
relentless encouragement.
Please share our
optimism for public education, pass us
along to others.
Friends of Texas Public Schools
Scott Milder, President & Chief Executive
P.O. Box 3526
Harker Heights, Texas 76548
Phone:
214-497-6411
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Visit
www.facebook.com
and search Friends of Texas Public Schools
to join the Group
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