Posted on 02/13/2007 5:01:47 AM PST by devane617
The number of Texas public school students in all ethnic groups increased over the past decade -- except for Anglo students, whose numbers dropped by 6 percent, according to a state report.
In the 2005-06 school year, more than 4.5 million students enrolled in Texas public schools, a 19 percent increase in the past decade, according to Enrollment in Texas Public Schools 2005-06, a report released Monday by the Texas Education Agency.
Hispanic students made up the largest increase. Students classified as being economically disadvantaged also increased, according to the report, which analyzed enrollment trends statewide.
"The projected changes in enrollment reflect factors such as internal migration, legal and illegal immigration, the relatively high levels of births in the 1990s, and resultant changes in the population," according to the National Center for Education Statistics, which is quoted in the report. Texas is expected to have recorded the second-largest enrollment increases, after Nevada.
The Austin area experienced the most growth in Texas. Region 11, which includes Tarrant County, experienced the second-largest enrollment increase, growing 34.1 percent, or 123,933 students, in the past decade.
IN THE KNOW
Texas public school enrollment
Texas public school enrollment increased 19 percent in the past decade, from 3.8 million students to more than 4.5 million, in the 2005-06 school year.
Enrollment of Anglo students decreased by 6 percent, from 1.76 million to 1.65 million.
Over the decade, Hispanic student enrollment increased by 650,199 students to 2 million, a 46.5 percent increase.
Hispanic students make up 45.3 percent of students in Texas public schools, followed by Anglo students at 36.5 percent and African-American students at 14.7 percent. Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian students make up 3.4 percent combined. Hispanic students became the largest group in the 2001-02 school year.
More than half of Texas public school students -- 2.5 million -- are economically disadvantaged. The number of students classified as such increased by 752,571, exceeding the increase in new students in the past decade.
Students identified as speaking limited English grew by 48.3 percent. The number of students receiving bilingual education or English as a second language services increased by 55.6 percent.
SOURCE: Enrollment in Texas Public Schools 2005-06
ping texas
Angles only? Not even Saxons?
And of course, the Jutes always get the short end of the stick...
With a 50% dropout rate for Mexicans by age 14, the next big increases will be in the Texas prison population. They graduate from grade school to the juvenile justice system and then to the big house...costing Texas taxpayers billions of dollars in the process. It would be a different world for Texans had God made Switzerland our neighbor.
Wow! Does that mean that my kids are now considered a minority and eligible for all of the services due a protected group? /s
Home schooling?
Your kids have "been" a miniority for years here in Texas.
Interesting that what little of this article I read makes no mention of the fact that the government indoctrination centers have gotten so bad that many parents have opted for private or home schooling for their kids.
I'm not sure that I necessarily see an ethnic component to the issue of fewer Anglo (white) Texas school students, although I question (rhetorically) why this article is focusing on that rather than the (lack of) quality of education. Many parents are still living in the past and believing that a quality education will give their kids an edge in higher learning and the workplace (yes, that's sarcasm).
Were I still attending school today (thank God I'm not!), I'm not sure that my parents wouldn't be seeking an alternative for me to ensure that I received an EDUCATION versus indoctrination in liberal philosophies. It is curious that the article doesn't seem to address the dismal record of public schools across the country as a causal factor in declining student populations as opposed to playing the race card.
My concern is for the vast majority of Texans that want a good education for their kids, yet can not afford a private school. We are losing generation, after generation, to the ludicrous situation politicians are playing with our future. We need to once and for all clean house by voting the current batch out.
It isn't easy but families can not afford not to home school or private school their kids.
There should be no "Anglo" (English) Americans, anyway.
Enlarged United States of America.
Why is it the test's fault? Did the test itself go and fail to give these students an education? Or does the test expose the fact that the schools failed to teach the children.
Methinks it was the latter. Schools and teachers don't want to be told they are failing, as it might jeopardize their political standing. So instead of trying to educate students so that they can pass the test, they push for the test to be dropped instead.
Ugggghhhhhh. Hypocrisy.
I have students coming from Mexico who do not know one word of English and even their Spanish language skills are lacking, yet I HAVE to give them the grade level TAKS.
It is easy for some to say teachers don't want to teach or can't teach students to pass the test. A blanket statement like that is very naive.
Hey, HEY don't forget about the Celts and Vandals!
Home schooling?>>>>
Yeah, and it's funny how they left out of the equation any mention of private schools
Not hardly. The major reason for TAKS and TASS was to put accountability into place. With accountability, there is a better case for vouchers.
While this article that you have posted is prominent in today's Texas education news, there is another article that is just as prominent.
That article deals with hispanic education problems as a good reason for private school vouchers, which is being strongly supported by hispanics.
Also prominent in that article is that Rod Paige publicly supported and spoke for those vouchers. Of course, Paige was Bush's Ed Secretary who put No Child Left Behind in place and TAKS is based on NCLB.
If we are going to privatize the roads and the lottery, let's privatize the schools also.
It is still a correct statement though. We've seen many situations in which testing is "blamed" for students' academic shortcomings. Tests are simply the messenger. Blaming tests for students' not being educated is like blaming the oil light on a car for being on when the engine in the car dies from a lack of oil.
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