Keeping Ahead of the Curve

Of all the public policy issues our state faces, none affects more of us than education. From pre-K to PhD, how good our education system is will determine how bright our future will be. Ours is a young state, with an enormous population that will need educating, and we must get it right.

So it’s high time we had some honest, informed discussions about what research shows does and does not work in education. There’s too much at stake not to. Other states—other countries—have determined that for their communities to succeed they must invest in education, and invest wisely, even during tough economic times. We must do the same.

The College of Education at The University of Texas is uniquely equipped to lead this discussion. In March, U.S. News & World Report pronounced UT’s education program the best of any public school in the country and the second-best overall (tied with Harvard).

What has distinguished our college is our ability to stay ahead of the curve, to work across disciplines, and to ask the big what-ifs and come up with compelling answers. We saw Texas’ growing Hispanic population and decided to prepare all of our elementary-education graduates to teach ESL or bilingual classes. We were concerned about the lack of native-born U.S. citizens majoring in engineering, so we partnered with the Cockrell School to develop a high school curriculum to attract more students into engineering careers.

That’s why I was delighted to hear that The Alcalde was looking to begin a research-based discussion by highlighting some of the most provocative and timely findings from our world-class faculty. They have sought out experts looking at how merit-based pay systems can improve teaching, whether lengthening the school day boosts student performance, and whether trimming physical education instruction helps or hurts student test scores.

While the College of Education is at the forefront of many of these issues, we are by no means the only ones working on them at the University, and often we partner up. One of UT’s most consequential education-related programs, UTeach, was developed by the College of Natural Sciences, in partnership with the College of Education, to train math and science teachers. It has become so widely praised and so frequently replicated it has created its own institute devoted to helping other institutions implement similar programs.

In this issue you’ll find a close look at the success of UT Elementary, a charter school developed in East Austin by the College of Education to showcase teaching strategies scientifically proven to work. Its curriculum was largely developed by faculty experts.

For as many education-related issues as are crammed into this magazine, it barely scratches the surface. The University of Texas is an enormous research engine, and the College of Education alone has enough work to fill dozens of books. It is no accident that our college is ranked No. 1 in the nation in research expenditures. You’ll see at the end of many articles website URLs at which you can get more detailed information. My hope is that you find this issue of the magazine so useful that you decide to bring it along to your next school board meeting.

However you participate in our state’s discussion about education, I hope you’ll consider the University and the College of Education as resources. If there’s any one thing we can agree on, it’s that keeping Texas ahead of the curve is in all of our best interests.

Manny Justiz, Guest Editor

Dean, College of Education