E3 Alliance is committed to transforming education systems through data and collaboration so that all students succeed. These advocacy priorities reflect our mission and commitment to meaningfully build racial equity belongingness, success, and well-being to ensure that the Texas public education system prioritizes students’ success.
Bright Futures for Texas Students
To help our students reach their full potential, education systems must continuously evolve. Educators regularly assess programs and processes to eliminate obstacles and close opportunity gaps. Legislative action can quickly scale successful systemic improvements across the state so ALL students succeed.
Our solutions recommend these actions:
- Support Early Education
- Increase Equitable Pathways
- Champion College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR)
- Ensure Postsecondary Success for All Students
- Reinforce low-ratio classrooms and quality pre-K.
- Maintain a focus on early literacy and reading.
Why
E3 Alliance research shows students enrolled in pre-K are three times more likely to receive top school-ready ratings from their kindergarten teachers and reach on-level reading by 3rd grade.
- Enforce policies that increase access and opportunity to Algebra I in 8th grade.
- Bolster middle school college and career advising by strengthening the alignment to high school.
Why
Students who succeed in Algebra I in middle school have a greater opportunity to engage in an advanced math course (e.g., dual credit) during their senior year of high school, which increases their likelihood of College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR) and postsecondary enrollment.
For the Texas Class of 2020, education systems are completing Asian students in Algebra I by middle school at a rate of over eight times more than Black students (Asian – 66%, Black – 19%).
SB 2124 Senate Education Committee Testimony | April 12, 2023
HB 4870 House Education Committee Testimony | April 20, 2023
- Incentivize schools for students who complete an advanced math course in their senior year.
- Support equitable access to dual credit and Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools (P-TECH) by increasing the number of students who enroll and earn applicable college credit, degrees and credentials of value.
Why
Students who complete four years of math are more than twice as likely to complete a postsecondary credential, associate degree, and/or bachelor’s degree, compared to those who take less than four years of math.
Students who complete a college-aligned math course in high school are six times more likely to complete a postsecondary credential, associate degree, and/or bachelor’s degree compared to those who complete Algebra II as their highest math.
- Pass legislation to implement the Texas Commission on Community College Finance recommendations for equitable reform, including significant new resources for strategic investment.
- Develop a pipeline for high school teachers to become credentialed as adjunct instructors.
- Increase access and opportunity for dual credit course offerings to retain students on the path to postsecondary success.
Why
In Texas, 62% of jobs require at least some postsecondary education, but only 47.9% of adults have a postsecondary credential. Currently, only 23% of students earn a degree within six years of graduation.
Get in Touch
Contact Jennifer Cavazos Saenz at jsaenz@e3alliance.org for more information.