The question many are asking: what’s changed in Texas?

Signed into a law last May, Senate Bill 149 changes requirements for students enrolled in the 11^th or 12^th grade for the 2014-2015, 2015-2016, or 2016-2017 school years who fail no more than two EOCs, to retake the EOC. If the student fails the EOC again, they are able to use the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) assessment to meet EOC requirements.

For more information concerning the Senate Bill 149, click here.

Despite its bad rep from previous statistics, Texas has rebounded concerning graduation rates, and Tomball ISD has pulled away from the rest with a graduation rate of 96.6% in 2015. Tomball is the crowning jewel of the Houston area concerning the graduation rates, according to a report by the Houston Chronicle.

“Working in conjunction with Tomball Memorial, to share ideas and get different approaches that allow both of us to be successful,” said THS Principal Greg Quinn, on what’s different about Tomball.

Last year, Texas’ graduation rate was an astounding 89 percent, the best of any state besides Iowa, New Jersey and Alabama. Tomball’s dropout rate last school year was a low .4 percent, compared to the state’s 2 percent overall.

“We work together with (Memorial),” Quinn said. “Things that we’ve found to be successful we share with them, and things that they’ve found to be successful they share with us, to make sure that we’re maximizing what we can for our kids.”