Texas educators and communities have long fought for educational equity. From the earliest major school finance cases, the pressing need for equity has been at the heart of school finance litigation. And the courts have affirmed through numerous cases that equity must be addressed. Recapture provisions in Texas? current school finance system are…

For almost 20 years, the Intercultural Development Research Association has worked with schools to improve their holding power through effective dropout prevention efforts. This year, IDRA continues this work through a new partnership with Clemson University, the Educational Development Corporation and the newly established National Dropout…

Seven lessons or reasons associated with high school dropout rates are described, based on ongoing studies performed by the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA). Under counting, high stakes testing, and accountability issues are explored. It is suggested that for student to remain in school (1) All students must be valued; (2)…

The Texas Supreme Court has sent the Texas school finance case back to trial to consider the suitability, adequacy and equity of the Texas school finance system. From its filing in 1984, the Texas case has generally been seen as an "equity" case. The trial set for July 2004 is generally seen as an "adequacy" case. This article clarifies the…

Recently at a school meeting, a group of parents shared with each other their vision and dreams for their children. As with most parents IDRA has worked with, these parents said they want their children to get a good education; to have many choices of professions; and to not lose their language, culture, values and faith of the family. All of…

It took 25 years, several rounds of court cases and many legislative sessions to create equitable system we have today so that all Texas children benefit. But it could all be wiped away. Texas policymakers are considering ways to change how Texas schools are funded. The courts are reviewing the current system as well. Texans for Fair Funding is a…

Bilingual education teaches English to children and at the same time, they are taught core subjects like math and science. The facts show that bilingual education is a small investment that pays big dividends for the country in the form of a well educated work force. This article focuses on three areas: historical basis for Texas funding for its…

Data from the Texas Education Association (TEA) show that 177,340 students (4.6 percent) in kindergarten through grade 12 were retained in 2001-02. This is enough students to fill Texas Stadium more than 2.5 times. Of this number, roughly 59,812 were elementary school students (grades kindergarten through six). There are several problems with in…

By the time they reach school, boys and girls have had quite different out-of-school science experiences, and this disparity persists through high school. There are marked differences between male and female levels of participation in extracurricular science activities, with males participating more often in activities such as working on science…

Mounting accountability pressures from state and federal legislation are prompting schools to closely examine the performance of English language learners both in language acquisition and in core content areas. State education agencies closely monitor yearly student progress to ensure that English language learners are progressing and that there…

As we begin the run up to the January 2005 Texas legislative session, a number of important education reform issues are on the table. Perhaps the greatest challenge will involve measures to increase revenues to cover state-supported functions, including of course education. [This document originally appeared in the "IDRA Newsletter", however some…

The gender gap - what is it? After all these years of gender equity in schools, does the gap still exist? Can it be closed? The answers to these questions are both simple and complex. For instance, there are still gender gaps between girls and boys in various aspects of achievement and other performance outcomes in schools. In some areas, girls…

The activity around the 50th anniversary of the landmark ruling made by the U.S. Supreme Court in Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas in 1954 is described. There have been many local and national events that have taken place, including a unique event sponsored by the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA). [This…

This article describes some core characteristics that reflect the underlying commitment of public school teachers to create and maintain vibrant learning environments for every student, every day, in every way, often under the bureaucratic pressures of high-stakes testing, rigid curricular fads, and simplistic administrative responses to…

IDRA interviewed different groups of respondents at San Antonio College to identify the most critical factors that impacted a decision to enroll in college and graduate. Focus group and individual interviews targeted key stakeholders, including: high school administrators, counselors, high school students, parents of high school students, and…