This study deals only with the attitudes held by ministers who cooperate in the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

A study to determine if the administrators of most rural high schools in Texas are putting their theory into practice, and if not, what changes are to be made in the administration of typical rural high schools of Texas in order that theory and practice may be brought closer together.

This thesis is the report of an investigation to determine and to evaluate the methods and the philosophy of the teaching of English in the secondary schools of Texas.

The investigator had the following purposes in undertaking the present study: 1. To determine administrative practices for the conduct of Interscholastic League baseball programs. 2. To determine common practices in coaching baseball in Conference A high schools in Texas. 3. To determine the organization of baseball practice periods.

Juvenile homicide offenders pose a significant risk to society considering the severity of the crime, yet this population of delinquents receives little attention in terms of recidivism research. This study examined the recidivism outcomes of a group of 256 determinately sentenced homicide offenders in Texas. Each of these juveniles had be confined to and subsequently release from the Texas Youth Commission, and were followed for three years following release. The aim of this research study was to distinguish recidivists from non-recidivists across demographic, delinquent history, and risk factor measures. These same measures were then used to predict recidivism among the entire sample. Overall, the measures of race, gender, and previous delinquent adjudications emerged significant. First, Black youth were significantly more likely to recidivate than both Hispanic and White youth. Additionally, recidivism among males was significantly greater than non-recidivism among males. In contrast, there were fewer females in recidivist group than the non-recidivist group. Finally, youth with a greater number of previous delinquent adjudications were significantly more likely to recidivate, and the risk of recidivism increased as the number of previous adjudications increased. These findings are consistent with previous literature and indicate that these factors are prevalent in analyzing the recidivist behavior of determinately sentenced juvenile homicide offenders.

Rainfall interception is one mechanism by which tree canopies can reduce surface runoff in urban areas. The objectives of this research were to: 1) quantify rainfall interception by urban tree canopies, and 2) determine the influence of vegetation and microenvironmental factors on rainfall interception rates. In the city of Denton, Texas, 30 mature post oak (Quercus stellata) and blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica) trees were selected for study. Trees were assigned to one of three categories: clusters of trees on greenspace (CG), isolated trees on greenspace (IG), and isolated trees surrounded by pavement (IP). Throughfall (the volume of water that travels through the canopy and reaches the soil surface) collectors were placed beneath these trees and rainfall collectors were placed in nearby open areas. Throughfall and rainfall were collected daily from 19 March to 4 July. Interception was calculated as the difference between throughfall and gross rainfall. Over the study period, there were 27 days with measurable rainfall; daily rainfall ranged from 1-51 mm. Over the sampling period, rainfall interception for individual trees ranged from -10% to 49%, indicating high spatial variability in interception. Percent interception was highest for the CG treatment (22.7 ± 3.8 SE), intermediate for IG (27.4 ± 2.3 SE), and lowest for IP (9.1 ± 4.9 SE). Factors like wind exposure, wind-driven rain and overall tree health may help explain this variability. This research will contribute to our knowledge of hydrological fluxes in urban areas and the role of urban green infrastructure in stormwater runoff mitigation.

In recent decades, changes to federal and state accountability policy and related teacher evaluation systems occurred in the United States with minimal input from two of the largest groups of stakeholders impacted: principals and teachers. For this case study, I explored principals' and teachers' perceptions of their experiences with the Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (T-TESS), specifically the role of leadership practices and use of the evaluation rubric as a policy tool within an evaluation process. The study took place at one elementary school. Teachers perceived the evaluation process as carrying out its intended purpose of improving instruction through professional growth. Principals and teachers viewed the teacher evaluation system and the teacher evaluation rubric, a policy tool designed to facilitate and inform the processes and practices used to improve instruction in their districts and schools, as effective. Important district-level decisions also impacted how principals and teachers perceived the T-TESS. District-level decisions included policy related to frequency of required observations, methods of including student performance data, decisions related whether to issue a single rating or multiple ratings, and evaluation of specialized teachers. School-based leadership behaviors and practices were also found to influence teachers' perceptions related to the effectiveness of teacher evaluation which included a focus on school culture, leadership style employed, evaluation training, and use of the evaluation rubric. The findings of this study have implications for policy decisions, district-leadership decisions, and school-based leadership practice related to teacher evaluation, both in Texas as well as the nation.

The intent of this thesis is to convey the distinctiveness and the contributions of Tejano culture in Texas. It focuses on the traditions of governance employed by Tejanos as well as their contributions to industry, economy and defense that Texas benefited from and still enjoys today. .given by Spain and México to Tejanos in establishing their settlements affected the development of a distinct Tejano culture. Furthermore, this study will also examine Anglo-Tejano interaction and Anglo American intentions toward Texas. It will also outline how Anglo Americans made determine efforts to wrest Texas away from Spain and México. Finally, the thesis examines Tejano cultural perseverance whose indelible imprint still resonates today.

The state of Texas passed the Student Success Initiative (SSI) in 1999 which requires all 3rd graders to pass the reading portion of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test to be promoted to the 4th grade, and for 5th graders to pass the reading and math portions of the TAKS test to be promoted to the 6th grade. Beginning in spring 2008, 8th graders will also need to pass the reading and math portions of the TAKS test to be promoted to the 9th grade. The purpose of this study was to examine the academic performance of 3rd and 5th grade students who did not meet the passing standard on the TAKS test and were retained during the 2005-2006 school year. The population of this study included 33 3rd graders and 49 5th graders who were retained during the 2005-2006 school year due to not meeting the promotion requirements of the SSI. There was also a second population of 49 5th graders who were retained in 3rd grade during the 2003-2004 school year due to not meeting the promotion requirements of the SSI. These students were enrolled in the 5th grade for the first time during the 2005-2006 school year. Their TAKS scores were examined to see whether students were still benefiting from the year of retention in 3rd grade. Results for all populations were broken down by ethnicity and program codes. The results of the study showed a statistically significant gain in 3rd grade reading and 5th grade math scores. The 5th grade reading scores did have a statistically significant improvement even though the reading mean score was still below the minimum passing score even after a year of retention. A cross tabulation done on students who had been retained in 3rd grade due to SSI requirements and were enrolled in the 5th grade during the study showed a greater significant growth in math than in reading. A strong correlation between the ITBS and TAKS tests were found in both 3rd grade reading and 5th grade math. A weak correlation between the tests was found in 5th grade reading.

The problem with which this study was concerned is the political influence of community/junior college chief executive officers (CEOs) and campus presidents on the state legislature, both directly and indirectly, in the funding of community colleges in Texas. Perceptions of effectiveness were recorded by survey from campus presidents and CEOs as well as from legislators and key legislators. In addition, interviews were conducted with several key legislators and the chief administrators of the two statewide community college organizations. The purpose of the study was to analyze the policy-making process in Texas of which community/junior colleges are a part. The influential relationships and interactions of the sixty-five CEOs and campus presidents of the public community college districts and campuses in Texas were analyzed after a survey instrument was administered. Perceptions of rank—and—file legislators were gathered through use of another survey instrument and perceptions of key legislators were gathered in the same manner but with the addition of a personal interview. Certain questions were asked of them concerning interactions and communication with leaders of community colleges. With the legislators and the presidents certain demographic data was collected and analyzed as a part of the study. Among the findings, campus presidents and CEOs do not have sufficient levels of acquaintance, interaction and communication to heavily influence local people whom they consider powerful in state funding of community colleges. Furthermore, legislators do not receive enough communication from powerful local group members to positively influence their decisions regarding community college funding. Presidents and CEOs from the metropolitan districts communicate most often with their legislators followed by those from rural districts. Board members from the metropolitan districts are most active in communicating with their legislators. Finally, legislators view the community college nearest them as equal to or better than community colleges statewide.