TXSmartSchools

Welcome to TXSmartSchools.tamu.edu, a resource for Texans interested in school effectiveness and efficiency

1/26/2021

TEA Report Uses TSS Salary Index
A recent report on geographic education cost variations published by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) relies on the Texas Smart Schools salary index for high school graduates for some of its calculations. The report was written by Texas A&M economists led by Dr. Lori Taylor, Principal Investigator for the Texas Smart Schools Initiative.

6/19/2020

The 2020 Smart Scores are here!
We have released another year of Texas school and district data. Use our Apples2Apples search tool to see how your selected districts and campuses compare to similarly situated peers on academic effectiveness and spending efficiency. Or, customize your searches to see the groups you want.

6/10/2019

The 2019 Smart Scores are here!
Find out which Texas schools and districts stand out as both high performing and low spending. Use our Apples2Apples search tool to see how your selected districts and campuses compare to similarly situated peers. Or, customize your searches to see the groups you want.

3/8/2019

Does Current State and Local Funding Provide For A Quality Education?—Dr. Lori Taylor participated in two panel discussions on that subject sponsored by the Dallas League of Women Voters. Click to see videos of the presentations.

Bush School Uncorked Podcast—You can also hear Dr. Lori Taylor talking about Education in Texas on Episode 2 of the Bush School Uncorked podcast series.

10/23/2018

Charter Schools Well Represented Among Five-Star Schools: 2018 Update—TXSmartSchools revisits the topic of the first Smart Steps issues brief using the 2018 results.

7/17/2018

Mistaken Identity? Can Demographics Explain the Houston 10—Ten Houston ISD schools face serious consequences if they can’t turn around a trend of poor performance. The most recent Smart Steps article, “Mistaken Identity? Can Demographics Explain the Houston 10,” uses TSS data to show how most of these campuses truly are among the lowest-performing in Texas, but two elementary schools have been unfairly singled out thanks to demographic factors outside of their control.

5/24/2018

The 2018 Smart Scores are here!
You can explore the data using our enhanced Apples2Apples comparison tool. See how districts and campuses compare to their similarly situated peers. Or, customize your searches to see the groups you want.

2/14/2018

Texas Smart Schools Included in School Finance Briefing—Dr. Lori Taylor, Principal Investigator for the Texas Smart Schools Initiative, was invited to provide testimony to the Texas Commission on Public School Finance at their February 8, 2018, meeting. You can see her presentation on school finance incentives by going to http://www.adminmonitor.com/tx/tea/public_school_finance/201802081/2/ and clicking on Agenda Video Clips, Item 5A.

11/21/2017

Texas Smart Schools to Present at National Education Conference—The Texas Smart Schools Initiative has been recognized for its work on school fiscal responsibility with an invitation to Dr. Lori Taylor, Principal Investigator for the project, to present at the 2017 National Summit on Education Reform in Nashville, TN.

9/18/2017

How well do we understand the effectiveness of educational technology? A new Smart Steps article, “From Overhead Projectors to Smart Boards: We Need to Better Understand the Growth of Technology in Texas Schools,” addresses that issue.

5/17/2017

The 2017 Smart Scores are here! See the Five-Star districts and campuses on the Latest Results page and explore the data using the Apples2Apples comparison tool.

5/11/2017

The 2017 data release is almost ready. For a sneak peek you can read our first Smart Steps article based on that data, “What’s Not to Love about Shared Service Arrangements?”

5/3/2017

Many school districts are using shared service arrangements to save millions for taxpayers, but the financial reporting on these agreements lacks accuracy and transparency. See the Smart Steps article on “What’s Not to Love about Shared Service Arrangements?” to learn more.

4/27/2017

In our latest Smart Steps article you can read about improving the effectiveness of teacher professional development.

2/20/2017

Read about challenges and best practices relating to new graduation requirements in “Implementing HB 5: Lessons Learned for Promoting Effective and Equitable Pathways in High School Education.”

2/9/2017

In a new Smart Steps issues brief titled “Measuring Poverty, Not Progress,” we demonstrate the strong correlation between poverty and performance in the TEA’s A-F ratings.

1/16/2017

Texas Smart Schools finds that the TEA’s A-F accountability ratings are Incomplete because they only partially adjust for student characteristics–something that Texas Smart Schools does well.

1/12/2017

In our latest Smart Steps issues brief, we grade the TEA on their new A-F accountability ratings.

11/9/2016

Donald Trump’s education plan proposes to redirect $20 billion in federal education spending towards school choice, which raises the obvious question: how are existing choice programs doing? According to our data, many charter schools in Texas are doing remarkably well.

10/5/2016

Read our first Smart Steps issues brief about how charter schools scored in the TXSmartSchools results.

6/6/2016 - KVUE-TV, Austin

Combs launches site comparing school spending, performance

5/27/2016 - Beaumont Enterprise

EDITORIAL: Retired state official provide example for current ones

5/27/2016 - Dallas Morning News

Web tool to compare Texas public schools’ academics with spending is Combs’ new cause

5/25/2016 - Houston Chronicle

Former Texas comptroller funds new tool to grade schools

5/25/2016 - Austin American-Statesman

Former Texas Comptroller launches new school comparison program

5/25/2016

Susan Combs Funds Texas Smart Schools Initiative

7/27/2015

Susan Combs to ensure underwriting of education best practice