English Language Arts: Active Listening (TEKS.ELA.9-12.1.A) Practice Test

Good evening, neighbors. Our reservoirs are at seventy percent, and conservation remains essential. The proposal before us funds pipeline repairs and modest rate adjustments—about the price of a weekly soda—for most households. Now, I've heard the frustration. No one enjoys paying more. But leaking mains waste millions of gallons a day. We can keep paying for water we never see, or we can fix what's broken. Some say we should wait for rain. I pause, because we did wait, and last summer's restrictions told the story. This plan prioritizes rural lines first, where a single break can drain a town's storage overnight. Urban upgrades follow, scheduled to avoid peak usage. I'm asking for patience—and partnership. If we approve this, we stabilize supply before August heat returns. If we don't, the next emergency meeting won't be about cents on a bill; it will be about taps that sputter in dry neighborhoods.

Thank you for attending. Our study tracked eight high schools over two years, measuring attendance, grades, and health visits when first period began at 8:30 compared to 7:30. Statistically, later starts correlated with higher first-period GPA and fewer nurse referrals for headaches. Now, correlation is not causation—let me be clear. Yet when we interviewed teachers, they reported fewer late arrivals and more sustained participation. Parents noted calmer mornings. One principal joked that the coffee lasted longer. We also examined districts that kept earlier bells; their trends were flat. Limitations include sample size and regional variability, which we detail in the appendix. Still, when every independent measure tilts in the same direction, it's worth noting. I will close with a slide of cost-neutral scheduling models some districts piloted successfully. I am not prescribing policy, but I do hope the data informs thoughtful timelines for any future changes within their local contexts.