The 5604 Manor summer series featuring Texas Observer  reporters wraps up with a talk by reporter Patrick Michels on “The Real Trouble with Testing.” Michels will report on why hundreds of Texas school districts are revolting against over-testing but No Child Left Behind is probably here to stay in Texas. He will also explain how the culture of testing has led to new ways for the private sector to move into public education.

Michels has been a staff writer and web editor at the Dallas Observer, and a former editor of the Texas Independent. After graduating from Northwestern University, he earned a master’s degree in photojournalism from the University of Texas at Austin.

The Texas Observer is a nonprofit news organization that specializes in investigative, political and social-justice reporting in its monthly print magazine and web site. From its founding in 1954, the Observer has focused on issues ignored or underreported by Texas’ mainstream media.

For more information, contact Robert Jensen, rjensen@uts.cc.utexas.edu.

Location: 5604 Manor, 5604 Manor Road, Austin, 78723 – 5604manor.org