There is very little doubt that Texas has led the nation in public education reform over the past decade or so and that Texas has served as a model for other states and the nation in the advancement of standards and accountability. There is mounting evidence that the easier phases of reform are behind us in Texas, that some of the more intractable problems with student achievement have not been reached by reforms while serious backsliding is underway in others. It is evident that more of the same accountability and standards will not produce the results we want, and that a much more difficult phase of reform lies ahead.
High Demand Shows Texas Families Want More Educational Freedom
The rollout of Texas’ Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) has already become a major success. When state officials opened applications on February 4, demand poured in at an unprecedented rate, with tens of thousands of families rushing to apply. Early figures show the scale of that demand. Within just hours of launch, more than 20,000 applications...