Texas sets its own course. The state writes the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, known as the TEKS, for every subject and revises each one on its own cycle. The TEKS are the spine of what gets taught, what gets tested, and what students need to graduate. Districts build their curriculum around them.
Tests for English learners and world-language students.
Annual assessment of English language proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing for students identified as English learners in grades K-12.
Tests that do not fit the buckets above.
STAAR Reading Language Arts is the spring summative reading and writing test for grades 3 through 5. Students answer multiple-choice and short-constructed-response items aligned to the TEKS for ELAR.
STAAR Reading Language Arts is the spring summative test for middle-grade ELAR. Students answer multiple-choice, constructed-response, and extended-constructed-response items aligned to the TEKS.
STAAR Mathematics is the spring summative math test for grades 3 through 5, aligned to the TEKS for math. Items include multiple-choice, gridded responses, and drag-and-drop.
STAAR Mathematics is the spring summative math test for grades 6 through 8, aligned to the TEKS for math.
STAAR Science is the grade 5 spring science test, aligned to the TEKS for science. Students show what they know across matter and energy, force and motion, Earth and space, and organisms.
STAAR Science is the grade 8 spring science test, aligned to the TEKS for science.
STAAR Social Studies is the grade 8 spring social studies test, aligned to the TEKS for grade 8 US history through Reconstruction.
End-of-course exam taken at the completion of Algebra I, typically grade 8 or 9. Students must pass all five STAAR EOCs to graduate from a Texas public high school.
End-of-course exam taken at the completion of Biology, typically grade 9 or 10.
End-of-course exam in reading and writing taken at the completion of English I, typically grade 9.
End-of-course exam in reading and writing taken at the completion of English II, typically grade 10.
End-of-course exam taken at the completion of US History, typically grade 11.
Federally administered sample-based assessment in reading, mathematics, science, writing, and other subjects. NAEP results inform state-by-state comparisons rather than individual student or school accountability.
No. Texas writes its own standards, called the TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills). The State Board of Education adopts them subject by subject, so math, reading, science, and social studies each run on their own update cycle.
STAAR is the spring state test. Students in grades 3 through 8 take it in reading and math, with science added in grades 5 and 8 and social studies in grade 8. High schoolers take STAAR end-of-course exams in Algebra I, Biology, English I, English II, and US History.
Yes. To earn a Texas public high school diploma, students must pass all five STAAR end-of-course exams: Algebra I, Biology, English I, English II, and US History. Students who do not pass on the first try get retake opportunities.
The State Board of Education reviews each subject on a rolling schedule, usually every six to ten years. Math was last adopted in 2012, ELAR in 2017, social studies in 2018, and science in 2021, so each subject is on a different clock.
Use the grade and subject menus on this page. Each grade links to the TEKS for that subject, broken down into the specific knowledge and skill statements students are expected to learn by the end of the year.
