Notes

Write a note in this area. It's The Progressives also thought that the state’s school system had to be reformed. At the time, in most rural schools one teacher taught all the grades. In 1914 the legislature passed a law that enabled rural voters to form school districts made up of two or more schools so that students of different grade levels could have separate schools and teachers.

Another 1914 law required children between the ages of 8 and 14 to attend school for at least 60 days a year. The law was gradually strengthened enough so that by 1920 about 75 percent of school-age children were being educated. In 1920 Texas had the longest school year and the highest literacy rate in the South. In 1918 Annie Webb Blanton was elected as state superintendent of education, becoming the first woman to hold statewide office. She advanced several reforms in education, including having textbooks distributed for free to students.

Improving the qualifications of rural teachers was more difficult. Most teachers in urban schools were high school graduates, and about half had college degrees. Almost half of rural teachers, however, had not graduated from any school. For this reason, reform of education in rural areas took much longer to attain.really easy to share with others. Click here ...