This editorial on the blog The
Burnt Orange Report by Ben Sherman is concerned with the SAT score drop in
Texas and what this means about the Texas education system. He finds this to not be
surprising because of the 2011 budget cuts. Sherman notes that Rick Perry
recently praised the higher SAT participation rates and that this is because of
the increase in the Hispanic and African American population in Texas. He points out that the quantity of students
taking the test doesn’t matter, but the quality of their education matters
more, obviously. The poorer SAT scores
show that the quality of education is decreasing. He points out that the draining of the
education system’s funds is the culprit.
In addition to the SAT scores, Sherman points out something even
scarier, that only forty-seven of Texas school students are prepared for college
when they graduate. He says that by
failing our children we are failing our state and believes that a new
Legislature needs to be elected.
Since I am very much into
education, so I totally agree with these statements. Sherman is arguing for a
change in the educational system of Texas to better prepare them for college. I
believe that his audience is parents, teachers, students, and legislators. I read his biography and found out that he
was Communications Coordinator for
the Bill White gubernatorial campaign. So,
I believe this gives him some kind of credibility since he has worked directly
in politics. He backs up his information
with facts and figures that make his argument more credible.
The purpose of his commentary is to convince electors and
legislators that there is a deficit in the Texas educational system that has
been caused by an increase in students and a decrease in funding. Not only are the SAT scores bad, but also
students are less prepared for college if they do get through high school. This shows that these students might not just
be bad test takers, but that they are simply undereducated. I believe this commentary was written to open
up the eyes of the people involved in education so that they can understand the
situation of the educational system. If
they understand what current state the system is in now, and if they don’t like
it, then they can vote for legislators who will work in accordance with their
beliefs of education.
I must say that adding money into the system won’t cure all of the
problems in Texas public education. Legislators and school districts should be
held accountable for what programs the money goes to. There must be a way to
motivate parents to become more involved in their children’s academic
life. If this cannot be achieved, there
has to be a program to get students more involved in their education, which
would involve an increase in funding.
This program should motivate, guide, and give academic support. Having a supportive network of people around
will encourage students to strive to do better academically.
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