The Houston Independent School district (HISD) is the largest school district in Texas and the 8th largest in the country, yet it ranks a mere 88th in the state of Texas in education. After years of discussion about the level of education and its competitiveness nationally, the Texas Education Agency (TEA), in an unprecedented move, took over the district in March of 2023.

In April, TEA scheduled to appoint a new school board that will be in charge of implementing a new direction and standard of education that will prepare the students for a new era of learning and teaching. With the current curriculum focused on outcome data, which entails the passing of exams to substantiate your learning capabilities, a change was prompted after a decades long failure to meet national standards of education. 

Many programs have been tested to run alongside the current curriculum, such as the APOLLO 20 program. This learning module was created in the image of New England school districts that are among the tops in education nationally. The Apollo program infuses an extra hour of education in the subject a student is struggling in, much like a tutor program,  in lieu of some elected courses which were mandatory for graduation credits. 

While this was an admirable attempt, which on a larger scale has had much success, the “teach to the test” model did not mesh well with that style of learning.  

While a new direction for the district is warranted, there is no word as to which direction the TEA will take and from what educational model.  

What do you think? Will  the Texas Educational Agency totally change the education system in Texas, or will it be much of the same?