STAAR

Ensure your child gets a good night’s sleep before the test and eats breakfast the morning of the test.

Yes. Parents can enter information on the parent portal using the student’s social security number as the PEIMS ID. 

According to TEA, “Performance in this category indicates that students are likely to succeed in the next grade or course with targeted academic intervention. Students in this category generally demonstrate the ability to apply the assessed knowledge and skills in familiar contexts.”

For more information about the other performance levels, e.g. Does Not Meet, Meets or Masters, click here.

STAAR is given for both reading and math in grades 3-8, in science grades 5 and 8, social studies in grade 8 and upon completion of the following high school courses: Algebra I, US History, English I, English II, and Biology.

In December, there is an administration for high school EOC re-testers. All students in eligible grades and courses will take STAAR in the Spring usually during the month of April.

The short answer is no. House Bill 8 (HB 8), passed by the Texas Legislature and signed into law, does change how state testing works in Texas, but it doesn’t immediately eliminate all STAAR testing. Instead, the law transitions the current single STAAR end-of-year exam for elementary and middle school into a new assessment model that will begin in the 2027–28 school year.

Starting with the 2027–28 school year, the traditional STAAR exams given once at the end of the year in grades 3–8 will be replaced with a new instructionally-supportive, through-year assessment program referred to in the law as the Student Success Tool (SST). Under this system:

• Students will take three shorter tests each year:
  • A Beginning-of-Year (BOY) assessment in early fall
  • A Middle-of-Year (MOY) assessment in January/February
  • An End-of-Year (EOY) assessment in spring

The BOY and MOY tests are designed to give teachers and families quicker information about learning progress so instruction can be adjusted earlier in the year. Results are required to be returned quickly (within days).

These new tests are shorter and intended to focus on helping schools support learning throughout the year rather than relying on one long, high-stakes test.

High school EOC assessments — like Algebra I, Biology, English I, and U.S. History — will continue to be required after 2027-28, though some beginning- and middle-of-year tests for those courses will be optional.

One notable change is that the English II EOC assessment will be removed as a graduation requirement beginning with the class of 2028, meaning future students will not have to take that exam as part of graduation testing.

While the current single, end-of-year STAAR tests for grades 3–8 are being phased out in favor of multiple shorter assessments, the law doesn’t immediately cancel all state assessments, and TEA will oversee the transition. High school EOC assessments remain part of the state assessment program.