Texas has a bizarre and punitive approach to public school accountability. If only one school in a large district is “low-performing,” the state can take control of the entire district. Houston is under state control because of only one school, as is Fort Worth.
The State Commissioner of Education, Mike Morath, is not an educator. He served on the Dallas School Board, but he is a businessman.
In Houston, he appointed former military man Mike Miles, to be the state-appointed superintendent. Miles is a “graduate” of the Broad Superintendents’ Academy, where would-be school leaders were taught to be tough, make demands, close schools, and enforce top-down commands. As a military man, Miles flourished in this environment. He led the Dallas school district, but things didn’t work out because of a exodus of teachers.
He then crested a charter chain based in Colorado. And now controjj on a the Houston Independent School Disrrict.
Daniel Dawer and Ruth Kravetz dissect Mike Miles’ “success” in Houston, which they call a shell game.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Miles would like to claim victory for his dystopian vision in Houston, but his so-called success illustrates Campbell’s Law. He proves that he can game the accountability system through maximum manipulation, but the human story paints a different picture. The district continues to lose teachers and students while he short changes disadvantaged students of color.
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