Texas School Accountability Standards 101

January 17, 2008

Brooke Dollens Terry

Texas has a complex public school accountability system to evaluate schools and school districts. The system lacks rigor, is too complex, and does not align with the federal accountability system. To hold schools accountable, policymakers need to make significant changes to the state accountability system.

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The Explosion of Transmission Costs in ERCOT: Causes, Forecasts, and Policy Solutions

KEY POINTS • Transmission costs in ERCOT rose from $1.5 billion in 2010 to over $5 billion in 2024 and could increase to over $12 billion per year by 2033. • After adjusting for inflation and overall rising electricity demand, the average ratepayer in the ERCOT region paid 57% more in transmission charges in 2024...

January 8, 2026

Energy & Environment

Fool Me Twice: Why the Texas Grid is Still Vulnerable to Winter Storms | Part 2: Projecting Winter Outage Risk Through 2030

Part 2: Projecting Winter Outage Risk Through 2030 As Texas approaches the five-year anniversary of Winter Storm Uri, the ERCOT grid faces growing vulnerability to winter power outages. This analysis projects that by 2030, the same type of storm that would cause approximately 12 hours of outages today could result in nearly 24 hours of...

January 29, 2026

Taxes & Spending

Assessing Tax Trends in the City of Ft. Worth

Does history suggest that property taxes are too high in the city of Ft. Worth? And, if so, have local decision-makers actively helped or hurt the situation? To help answer these questions, let’s review the city’s 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) and gather four types of data—i.e., tax levies, local population, total tax rates, and taxable values—over a 10-year time horizon. Using these audited estimates, we can gauge the growth of government (i.e., tax levy trends), assess its...

February 19, 2026

Brooke Dollens Terry

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The Explosion of Transmission Costs in ERCOT: Causes, Forecasts, and Policy Solutions

Fool Me Twice: Why the Texas Grid is Still Vulnerable to Winter Storms | Part 2: Projecting Winter Outage Risk Through 2030

Assessing Tax Trends in the City of Ft. Worth