Public education is the most important business of state government because investments we make in students now will determine the economic future of our state. Texas ranks next to last of all states in the percentage of adults with high school diplomas and 45th in SAT scores. A report by Texas Select Commission on Higher Education and Global Competitiveness stated that Texas is not globally competitive and faces a downward spiral in both quality of life and economic competitiveness if we fail to educate more of our growing population. That is unacceptable. We need to hold our teachers, schools, and students accountable, but accountability must start at the top. Education must become a higher priority in the state budget. We need a new governor.

With new leadership, Texas can improve student achievement, increase high school graduation rates, and reduce the barriers to higher education. As Governor, I will:

1. Expand pre-K programs that work. Texas Early Childhood Education Coalition has outlined one pathway to do so. Oklahoma expanded pre-K to increase student performance, and early childhood programs have been shown particularly effective in improving the performance of Hispanic students, who make up the majority of Texas' preschool population. Last year, Texas legislators tried to expand access to pre-K program by passing HB 130 with bipartisan support, but Rick Perry vetoed the bill.
2. Improve career and technical education by working with school districts, community colleges, and employers. High school students who must work should be matched with jobs close to school. As governor, I will help local school officials work with local employers to create effective job banks for those students who have to work, with a requirement that the student stay in school. There also should be flexible hours for classes, including online opportunities, for students who must work. We must bridge the digital divide with technology in the classroom. Dual credit programs should be encouraged so that high school students can earn college credit and increase the likelihood that they will earn a two- or four-year degree.
3. Cut dropout rates, by treating it as an emergency when students do not return to school. In Houston we launched Expectation Graduation to cut the dropout rate. Each fall, my wife Andrea and I led thousands of volunteers to go to the homes of high school students who had not returned to school. Approximately 8,800 students returned to school as a result, and this initiative has been replicated in communities across Texas. There must be pathways to bring students who have dropped out but wish to return to school back up to grade level. Following the influx of students during Hurricane Katrina, in Houston we found that a combination of tutoring and summer school was effective. And we can reduce dropout rates by helping students keep up over the summer through voluntary summer enrichment programs, like the Summer Opportunity Sessions we organized in Houston that provided four weeks of hands-on science and math for elementary school students. The program dramatically improved performance at a low cost per student. A Brookings Institution report (PDF) provides further support for the approach.
4. Let educators teach writing, reasoning, and problem-solving skills, rather than teaching how to make a minimum score on an annual high-stakes multiple choice test. Improving the performance of public education requires us to attract and retain great educators who can prepare our students for a complex world. This requires competitive compensation and recruitment and accountability measured by more than one test score. We must also ensure that teachers have the skills, including motivational and interpersonal skills, before they are retained with job security. Master teachers and principals ought to be incentivized to work in schools with the biggest challenges. We should identify and replicate the best practices from high-performing schools, including charter schools. Accountability should be based in part on measures of educational outcomes including success in finding jobs or pursuing higher education.
5. Make college education more affordable for more Texans. An educated workforce is critical in today's economy, but too many families cannot afford to send their children to college because of prohibitive costs and skyrocketing tuition. College tuition in Texas public colleges has risen more than 93% since 2003, far faster than financial aid and family incomes. I will work to make both two year and four year programs more affordable. We can start by making sure that our school bookstores obtain textbooks and other course materials at the lowest prices available and by using open source and online materials when possible. And Texas students should have an opportunity to pay little or no tuition with a public service commitment after school.

Moving forward in education and job training will produce a better economy and more jobs long-term. After all, people with more skills earn more, spend more, invest more, and that helps the whole economy.

 

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