Texans are not Rednecks. They are cowboys.
Now we South Carolinians on the other hand, wear the name Redneck proudly.
As a Texan I can say beware the numbers from TEA. It is all about revenue. High graduation rates mean more fed money. The public schools here are not allowed to fail anyone with few exceptions. No grade below a 50. If you do not turn in work you can turn it in late for a 70. There is no content mastery being taught. The number of students repeating a grade in Texas is basically non-existent anymore.
We have some very bright students here, but we also have many that are there only to compliment their facebook status or get the free breakfast and lunch or play sports (this could be a whole separate conversation).
I hate to bring this up because many libs and blue states use it as ammo to say Texas takes more from the feds than we get back. As a border state we have a major problem with kids in our schools who do not speak English so they get to go through the ESL (English as a Second Language) program and are never forced to learn English. Every school just as our illustrious state government has to print every form in Spanish as well and give tests in Spanish (and not Spanish class). It sickens me.
You still see high achievers in some of the suburban schools and magnet/charter schools. I can say many Texans are fleeing the public school system (we are in that group). There are private schools popping up all over the state. Homeschooling is on the rise as well.
This is partly the result of Ross Perot’s “No Pass, No Play” initiative which began back in the 80’s. It established universal standardized tests for students and merit based pay for teachers. The teachers howled bloody murder about it back then. I was working for the University of Houston and the teachers had several large confabs there right around that time. To hear them talk you would have thought Ross Perot was the reincarnation of Adolph Hitler. This was only a few years after his big company employee rescue from Tehran and he was still a major hero to most people.
And btw, you forget the West and the Midwest in that definition. Basically all the fly-over states are the Redneck Nation. Spread the love around, son... We are just as uneducated as y'all are.
Very interesting reading all of the comments. Not quite what I had expected but after reading them gave me a new perspective.
I guess my overall point was that I always hear Texans are near the bottom of education implying we’re only conservative due to being uneducated and I would think the Dept of Ed under the Obama admin would have more incentive than usual to continue that propaganda.
So the fact that even this Dept said otherwise might’ve helped to refute that talking point even a bit. But still I do take all points made on these comments.
There is some sort of disconnect going on in Texas education. They may have a great graduation rate, but they rank very near the bottom on SAT and ACT scores.
I can’t find the participation rates for Texan SAT and/or ACT takers, though. So, at best, Texas has a very high participation rate, with the poor performers dragging the average score down. At worst, Texas has lax graduation standards, which explain the terrible college entrance average scores.
I have personally met adults who are functionally illiterate even though they have a high school diploma. They were schooled in Chicago.
God bless Texas. If y’all would secede, I would apply for citizenship.