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The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) is Texas's statewide standardized test for grades 3-8. STAAR measures mastery of the TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills), which Texas developed independently — Texas never adopted Common Core. STAAR is at an inflection point: Governor Abbott signed House Bill 8 on September 17, 2025, replacing STAAR with a new 'Student Success Tool' (BOY/MOY/EOY administrations) starting the 2027-28 school year. For 2025-26 and 2026-27, STAAR continues in its current form — but the test your child takes this April is going to look very different from the test their younger sibling takes two years from now.
Spring 2026 STAAR window: April-May 2026. Math, Reading Language Arts (RLA), Science (grades 5 and 8), and Social Studies (grade 8 only) administered within this window. Exact dates set by district within state-mandated windows.
| Grade | Subjects Tested |
|---|---|
| Grade 3 | Math and Reading Language Arts (RLA) |
| Grade 4 | Math and RLA |
| Grade 5 | Math, RLA, and Science |
| Grade 6 | Math and RLA |
| Grade 7 | Math and RLA |
| Grade 8 | Math, RLA, Science, and Social Studies |
Texas uses the following performance levels. 'Meets Grade Level' is Texas's proficiency target — meaning your child has solid mastery of grade-level TEKS. 'Masters' indicates exceptional performance. 'Approaches' is sometimes called passing for accountability purposes but is below the proficiency bar.
Student does not demonstrate mastery of the grade-level TEKS. Significant intervention is needed.
Student demonstrates partial understanding of the TEKS but has gaps. Targeted support recommended.
Student demonstrates grade-level mastery of TEKS. This is Texas's proficiency target.
Student demonstrates exceptional mastery exceeding grade-level expectations.
STAAR has been fully online since 2022-23. Students use a secure testing browser with tools like a calculator (grade-appropriate), highlighter, and text-to-speech for accommodations. New item types include drag-and-drop, equation editor, hot-spot, and inline-choice questions.
The 2022-23 STAAR redesign added longer reading passages and integrated cross-curricular writing into RLA. Reading passages now include science and social-studies content. Writing is embedded in RLA, not a separate test.
STAAR redesign capped multiple-choice items at 75% — the remaining 25%+ are constructed-response, evidence-based, or technology-enhanced. The constructed-response writing prompt in RLA is the most consequential single item, especially for grade 4 (see below).
Texas administers a full Spanish version of STAAR for grades 3-5 in Math, RLA, and Grade 5 Science. Spanish STAAR is one of the country's most comprehensive bilingual state tests. HB 8 preserves Spanish in the new Student Success Tool starting 2027-28.
The biggest change in STAAR's history is happening now. Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 8 on September 17, 2025, replacing STAAR with a new 'Student Success Tool' (SST) starting the 2027-28 school year. The SST will use three shorter through-year administrations (Beginning of Year, Middle of Year, End of Year) with 48-hour score returns. English II EOC is eliminated; practice-test restrictions are added. For 2025-26 and 2026-27, STAAR continues in its current redesigned form (2022-23 update added longer reading passages and cross-curricular writing). The Texas A-F school accountability ratings were paused by court order in 2023 after 100+ districts sued TEA; the 15th Court of Appeals released 2023 ratings on April 3, 2025 and 2024 ratings on July 3, 2025 (released August 15, 2025). Litigation continues.
Texas Education Agency released its Spring 2024 STAAR results in summer 2024. The headline numbers below show percent at 'Meets Grade Level' or higher — Texas's proficiency target. 'Approaches Grade Level' is a lower bar used for accountability but does not reflect grade-level mastery.
| Grade / Subject | % Meeting or Exceeding | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 Math (Meets) | 40% | |
| Grade 3 RLA (Meets) | 46% | |
| Grade 4 Math (Meets) | 44% | |
| Grade 4 RLA (Meets) | 49% | Cross-curricular writing prompt — 46% scored zero on constructed-response after redesign |
| Grade 5 Math (Meets) | 48% | Highest math grade in 3-8 |
| Grade 5 RLA (Meets) | 53% | Highest RLA grade in 3-8 |
| Grade 6 Math (Meets) | 37% | |
| Grade 6 RLA (Meets) | 54% | |
| Grade 7 Math (Meets) | 32% | Lowest math grade in 3-8 |
| Grade 7 RLA (Meets) | 52% | |
| Grade 8 Math (Meets) | 40% | |
| Grade 8 RLA (Meets) | 51% |
Two patterns to read carefully. First: math collapses from Grade 5 onward — Grade 7 math 'Meets' is 32%, the lowest band in K-8. Second: RLA holds steady in the high 40s and low 50s, but Grade 4 RLA hides the brutal writing-prompt story underneath. After the 2022-23 STAAR redesign added a constructed-response evidence-based writing prompt, 46% of 4th graders scored a zero on it — up from about 5% pre-redesign. The headline 49% 'Meets' on Grade 4 RLA reflects strong reading scores carrying a writing component most kids failed. The fix is practice writing organized responses with text evidence, not template memorization. Spring 2025 baselines were not released at this writing; check tea.texas.gov for the latest.
Mike Morath is Texas's Commissioner of Education — appointed by Governor Abbott in January 2016 and Senate-confirmed in March 2017. He remains in role as of May 2026. Morath's tenure has been defined by the 2022-23 STAAR redesign, the Houston ISD takeover (June 2023, ongoing), the 2023 A-F accountability lawsuit that paused public ratings, and the recent passage of HB 8 (Sept 2025) replacing STAAR by 2027-28. Recent 2026 actions include the Fort Worth ISD and Connally ISD takeovers and the appointment of an Inspector General at TEA.
TEA finalized the Connally ISD takeover effective May 6, 2026. The Fort Worth ISD takeover was finalized between February and April 2026. Five additional districts are flagged as at risk.
Governor Abbott signed HB 8 on September 17, 2025. STAAR will be replaced by the 'Student Success Tool' starting the 2027-28 school year — three shorter administrations (BOY/MOY/EOY) with 48-hour score returns. English II EOC eliminated. Practice-test restrictions added.
TEA released 2024 A-F accountability ratings on August 15, 2025, following the 15th Court of Appeals decision (July 3, 2025) that cleared release. The 2023 ratings had been previously released April 3, 2025.
Texas has the largest public school system in the country and one of the country's widest district-level variations. The five districts below are chosen for geographic and demographic contrast across the state. Numbers reflect 2024 STAAR results where available.
Texas's largest district. Demographics: 61.7% Hispanic, 21.3% Black, 77.1% Economically Disadvantaged. TEA took over the district in June 2023 after Wheatley HS received 7 consecutive F ratings. Mike Miles was installed as Superintendent. 4,680 of ~11,000 teachers left in 2023-24. A/B-rated campuses doubled from 93 to 197; F-rated campuses dropped from 56 to 0. Takeover extended to 2027. Texas Monthly reported some 3rd-grade gains were partly driven by retaining more 2nd-graders pre-test.
Texas's second-largest district. Dallas ISD has been a national bright spot for urban district improvement — posted a +5 percentage-point average STAAR gain across subjects in 2025. Long-term superintendent Stephanie Elizalde has emphasized stable leadership and instructional coherence.
Top-performing major Texas district. Demographics have shifted significantly — about 38% low-income now, up from a historically more affluent profile. Plano ISD was a named plaintiff in the 2024 lawsuit that sued TEA over automated essay scoring on the STAAR writing prompt.
Central Texas's largest district. Includes both wealthy west-side feeder patterns and east-side communities under historical disinvestment. Performance varies dramatically by individual campus and by neighborhood. Austin ISD has navigated significant enrollment decline along with rising costs of living in the city.
Rio Grande Valley district that demonstrates how demographic headlines don't determine outcomes. PSJA has built one of the state's most successful early-college networks despite extremely high Economic Disadvantage rates. Spanish STAAR participation is significant given the bilingual population. PSJA's outcomes have outpaced expectations consistently.
Texas's district spread is enormous but the story isn't just rich versus poor. Houston ISD (under state takeover) and PSJA ISD (Rio Grande Valley) both serve high-poverty populations but operate under very different governance structures. Plano ISD and Austin ISD both serve wealthier averages but have very different demographic compositions within their boundaries. The variation across Texas's 1,200+ districts is one of the country's most complex public-education stories.
Texas's headline 2024 STAAR proficiency rates — Grade 5 RLA 53%, Grade 7 Math 32% — hide enormous district-level variation. Houston ISD's state takeover (4,680 teachers left in 2023-24, F-rated campuses dropping from 56 to 0) is the most-watched public-education story in the country. Plano ISD, a wealthy suburb that was a named plaintiff in the 2024 A-F lawsuit, has seen its low-income share shift to 38%. PSJA ISD in the Rio Grande Valley posts strong outcomes despite 94.4% Economic Disadvantage. Underneath all of it, the 2022-23 STAAR redesign added a brutal constructed-response writing prompt that 46% of 4th graders scored zero on. The HB 8 replacement (Student Success Tool, starting 2027-28) is partly a response to this — three shorter tests per year with faster feedback. For families: if your child is in 4th grade, dedicate practice time to the writing prompt specifically. If your child is in K-3, focus on reading mileage. If your child is in middle school math, the steep drop from Grade 5 to Grade 7 math reflects a curriculum-pacing problem that targeted practice can move.
Three Texas decisions are reshaping the STAAR landscape — and most parents have only heard about one of them.
Signed by Governor Greg Abbott on September 17, 2025. Replaces STAAR with the 'Student Success Tool' starting the 2027-28 school year. Three shorter administrations per year (BOY, MOY, EOY) with 48-hour score returns. English II End-of-Course test eliminated. Practice-test restrictions added (limiting how schools can use repetitive multiple-choice prep). Predecessor bills: HB 4 (House regular session, did not pass) and SB 1962 (Senate, died on House deadline). HB 8 passed in the second called special session.
House Bill 3261 (2021) directed TEA to redesign STAAR. The 2022-23 administration was the first under the redesigned format. Four pillars: online testing (now standard), new question types (75% multiple-choice cap, 25%+ constructed-response or tech-enhanced items), cross-curricular RLA passages (reading passages now include science and social-studies content), and evidence-based writing prompts. Standalone Grade 4 and Grade 7 Writing tests were retired. The redesign exposed a brutal writing gap — 46% of 4th graders scored zero on the constructed-response writing prompt in 2024.
100+ Texas school districts sued Commissioner Morath in 2023 to block the 2023 A-F accountability ratings, arguing TEA changed methodology mid-year without sufficient notice. 30+ more districts (including Plano ISD) sued in 2024 over methodology plus automated essay scoring on the STAAR writing prompt. The 15th Court of Appeals cleared the 2023 ratings release on April 3, 2025 and the 2024 ratings on July 3, 2025 (released August 15, 2025). Litigation continues over specific scoring methodologies.
Texas never adopted Common Core. STAAR is fully aligned to TEKS, which were developed in Texas and refined over decades. Texas, Virginia, Alaska, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Indiana, and South Carolina are the small group of states that never participated in CCSS.
STAAR is being replaced. Under HB 8 (Sept 2025), STAAR transitions to the 'Student Success Tool' starting 2027-28 — three shorter tests per year (BOY/MOY/EOY) with 48-hour score returns. The April 2026 STAAR is one of the last under the current format.
Grade 4 STAAR Writing redesign is brutal: after the 2022-23 redesign added a constructed-response evidence-based writing prompt, 46% of 4th graders scored ZERO on it — up from about 5% before the redesign. The writing component drives grade 4 RLA scores more than any other single item.
Spanish STAAR for grades 3-5 is the most extensive bilingual state assessment in the country. Math, RLA, and Grade 5 Science are all available in full Spanish editions.
The Houston ISD state takeover (June 2023, ongoing under Mike Miles) is the largest TEA intervention in Texas history. 4,680 of about 11,000 teachers left in 2023-24. A/B-rated campuses doubled from 93 to 197. F-rated campuses dropped from 56 to 0. The takeover extended to 2027.
STAAR is going away — but not for two more years. House Bill 8 replaces STAAR with the Student Success Tool starting 2027-28. Your child's Spring 2026 and Spring 2027 tests will still be in the current STAAR format. After that, three shorter tests per year (BOY/MOY/EOY) with 48-hour score returns.
If your child is in 4th grade, the STAAR Writing prompt deserves dedicated practice. After the 2022-23 redesign, 46% of 4th graders scored zero on the constructed-response writing — up from about 5% pre-redesign. The fix is practice writing organized responses with text evidence, not memorizing five-paragraph templates.
Texas children also get a Spanish STAAR option in grades 3-5 (Math, RLA, and Grade 5 Science). If your family speaks Spanish at home, talk to your school about this option. It is one of the most extensive bilingual state assessments in the country.
If you live in Houston ISD, the state takeover is real and ongoing. The TEA-appointed superintendent Mike Miles installed a New Education System (NES) at many campuses. Test scores rose dramatically — but Texas Monthly reported that some 3rd-grade gains were partly driven by retaining more 2nd-graders pre-test. Read your child's score report in context.
Texas was one of the first states to enforce 3rd-grade reading retention. The grade 3 STAAR Reading score matters in ways grade 4-8 reading does not. If your kid is K-3 in Texas, focus on reading mileage — books read at home, daily reading time — more than test-format prep.
Yes — starting the 2027-28 school year. Governor Abbott signed House Bill 8 on September 17, 2025. STAAR will be replaced by the 'Student Success Tool' (SST) — three shorter through-year tests (Beginning of Year, Middle of Year, End of Year) with 48-hour score returns. For 2025-26 and 2026-27, STAAR continues in its current redesigned form. Your child's Spring 2026 and Spring 2027 tests will still be STAAR; their Spring 2028 test will be the SST.
Texas's 2026 STAAR window runs April-May 2026. Math, Reading Language Arts (RLA), Science (grades 5 and 8), and Social Studies (grade 8 only) are administered within this window. Exact dates are set by district within state-mandated windows. Ask your child's school for their specific test dates.
Grades 3-8 take STAAR Math and RLA every year. Grade 5 also takes Science. Grade 8 also takes Science and Social Studies. There is NO standalone Grade 4 Writing test (retired in 2022-23 redesign) and NO Grade 7 Writing test (retired in same redesign). Writing is now embedded in RLA via the constructed-response prompt.
Yes, materially. The 2022-23 STAAR redesign added longer reading passages, cross-curricular RLA content, and constructed-response writing prompts in RLA. The most dramatic single statistic: 46% of 4th graders scored ZERO on the new constructed-response writing prompt, up from about 5% pre-redesign. Multiple-choice items were capped at 75%; the remaining 25%+ are evidence-based, technology-enhanced, or constructed-response.
Texas uses four performance levels: 'Did Not Meet,' 'Approaches,' 'Meets,' and 'Masters' Grade Level. 'Meets Grade Level' is Texas's proficiency target — your child has demonstrated grade-level mastery of the TEKS. 'Approaches' is sometimes called 'passing' for accountability but does not reflect grade-level mastery. 'Masters' indicates exceptional performance. Specific scaled-score cuts vary by grade and subject; TEA publishes them annually.
In 2023, 100+ Texas school districts sued Commissioner Morath to block release of the 2023 A-F accountability ratings, arguing TEA changed methodology mid-year. 30+ more districts (including Plano ISD) sued in 2024 over scoring methodology and automated essay grading. The 15th Court of Appeals cleared release of the 2023 ratings on April 3, 2025 and the 2024 ratings on July 3, 2025 (released August 15, 2025). Litigation continues over specific issues including automated essay scoring.
The 2022-23 STAAR redesign retired the standalone Grade 4 Writing test and integrated a constructed-response evidence-based writing prompt directly into the Grade 4 RLA test. In the first year of the new format, 46% of 4th graders scored ZERO on the prompt — up from about 5% before the redesign. The prompt now drives Grade 4 RLA scores more than any other single item. The fix is practice writing organized responses with text evidence, not memorizing five-paragraph templates.
Yes. Texas administers a full Spanish version of STAAR for grades 3-5 in Math, RLA, and Grade 5 Science. Spanish STAAR is one of the country's most extensive bilingual state assessments. HB 8 preserves Spanish in the new Student Success Tool starting 2027-28. Talk to your school if your family speaks Spanish at home and is eligible.
In June 2023, the Texas Education Agency took over Houston ISD — the largest TEA intervention in Texas history. The trigger was Wheatley High School's 7 consecutive F ratings. Mike Miles was installed as Superintendent and rolled out a 'New Education System' (NES) at many campuses. Approximately 4,680 of 11,000 teachers left in 2023-24. A/B-rated campuses doubled from 93 to 197; F-rated campuses dropped from 56 to 0. The takeover was extended to 2027. Texas Monthly reported that some 3rd-grade gains were partly driven by retaining more 2nd-graders pre-test.
No. Texas never adopted Common Core. STAAR is fully aligned to TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills), which were developed in Texas independently. Texas is one of the small group of states — alongside Virginia, Alaska, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Indiana, and South Carolina — that never participated in CCSS.
Mike Morath, Commissioner of Education at the Texas Education Agency since January 2016. He was Senate-confirmed in March 2017 and remains in role as of May 2026. Morath's tenure has been defined by the 2022-23 STAAR redesign, the Houston ISD takeover, the 2023 A-F accountability lawsuit, the recent passage of HB 8 (Sept 2025) replacing STAAR, and the 2026 Fort Worth ISD and Connally ISD takeovers.
TEA has framed the SST primarily as faster and more useful — three shorter tests per year with 48-hour score returns, rather than one big spring test with summer-released results. Content rigor is intended to remain comparable, since the new test will still be aligned to TEKS. Practice-test restrictions are added (limiting repetitive multiple-choice drill practice). Implementation begins 2027-28; specifics on cut scores and item types are still being finalized by TEA.
The STAAR is Texas's standardized assessment for grades 3-8. Students are tested in Math and English/RLA every year, and Science in grades 5 and 8.
Our AI generates questions aligned to TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) standards at the exact difficulty and format of the real STAAR. Every question is verified by a second AI for accuracy.
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Spring 2026 test windows, the HB 8 replacement timeline, scoring levels, and tested subjects by grade — all verified against the Texas Education Agency.