Grades 3–8 [E] [M]
Students in grades 3 through 8 will take state-mandated tests as well as routine testing and other measures of achievement:
- Mathematics, annually in Grades 3–8 ;
- Reading, annually in Grades 3–8;
- Writing, including spelling and grammar, in Grades 4 and 7;
- Social Studies in Grade 8;
- Science in Grades 5 and 8
Certain eligible students—some with disabilities and some with Limited English Proficiency—may be eligible for designated support during the STAAR® test.
The Student Success Initiative (SSI) grade advancement requirements apply to grades 5 and 8 students who take the STAAR ® reading and mathematics tests. State law requires a student may advance to the next grade level only by passing these tests or by unanimous decision of his or her grade placement committee.
Grades 9–12 [H]
EOC ®
Students entering Grade 9 beginning with the 2011– 2012 school year will be required to take five (5) End- of-Course (EOC) assessments during high school. These students will take the following EOC exams as they are completing the coursework (no student should test if only half of the course credit has been completed):
- English I
- English II
- Algebra I
- Biology
- U.S. History
Certain eligible students—some with disabilities and some with Limited English Proficiency—may be eligible for an accommodated version of the STAAR®test.
EXIT LEVEL TAKS
Students in Grades 11 and 12 who were classified as Grade 9 prior to the 2011–2012 school year will no longer take the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) Exit Level tests. Beginning with the 2017–2018 school year, the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) assessments will no longer be administered. Students for whom TAKS is a graduation requirement, including former TAAS and TEAMS examinees, may pursue the following options to receive a Texas high school diploma.
- Achieve satisfactory performance on an alternate assessment. The alternate assessments allowed for TAKS are SAT, ACT, TSIA 2.0, and STAAR®. Former TAKS, TAAS, and TEAMS examinees should take only the appropriate part of the alternative assessment he or she needs to fulfill testing graduation requirements. More information is available in the Texas Administrative Code § 101.4003.
- Request a district decision from the Local Graduation Committee (expires 9/1/2023).
Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment
System (TELPAS)
TELPAS assesses the English language proficiency of K–12 ELLs in four language domains—listening, speaking, reading, and writing. English language proficiency assessments in grades K–12 are federally required to evaluate the progress that ELLs make in becoming proficient in the use of academic English. The assessment components for grades K–1 and 2–12 differ in the following ways:
- Grades K–1: TELPAS includes holistically rated listening, speaking, reading, and writing assessments based on ongoing classroom observations and student interactions.
- Grades 2–12: TELPAS includes multiple-choice online reading assessment, listening and speaking assessment, and holistically rated student writing collections.
Accelerated Instruction
Any student who does not perform satisfactorily on a STAAR® assessment will be provided accelerated instruction in the applicable subject. Each time a student fails to perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument, the school shall provide the student with accelerated instruction in the applicable subject. A student failing to perform satisfactorily on an end-of- course assessment must be provided the appropriate accelerated instruction before the next administration of the applicable assessment.