Chris Bell Calls for End of High-Stakes Testing

Chris Bell, gubernatorial candidate from Texas, just made things more interesting in the race for governor:

AUSTIN - Public education moved to the forefront Tuesday in the race to be governor of Texas.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell decried the state's dropout problem and offered his solution, but with few details and no price tag.

"I love Texas too much to turn a blind eye to the dropout crisis," Bell said. "Rick Perry can stick his head in the sand and kick kids out of school, but we'll lose a lot more than money in the long run."

To help curb the state's high dropout rate - either 38 percent or 16 percent, depending on which camp you believe - Bell proposed a plan to end high-stakes testing, promote innovative pilot programs targeting at-risk students, expand career and technology training programs, and support flexible scheduling and local volunteer-driven campaigns. . . .