Texas high school students now need to pass five end-of-course exams instead of 15 to meet state graduation requirements. High school students must complete tests in: Algebra I, English I, English II, Biology, and U.S. History. Click here to view changes to STAAR Testing resulting from passage of HB5. Passage of HB 5 eliminates the requirement that districts include the EOC results as 15 percent of course grades.

HB5 also introduced a new graduation plan, The Foundation Plan.

The Foundation Plan - Endorsements FAQs (PDF) 

The Foundation Plan - Foundation Plan FAQs (PDF)

3rd, 4th & 5th Graders
MATH, READING, WRITING & SCIENCE

The STAAR assessments in grades 3-5 focuses on content taught during the current academic year rather than knowledge and skills learned over multiple years.

Elementary Testing

STAAR TESTS BY GRADE LEVEL:

STAAR Time Limits:
Beginning in 2014, the STAAR and STAAR Modified English I and English II assessments will have a five-hour time limit. All other assessments (STAAR, STAAR Spanish, STAAR L, and STAAR Modified) will have a four-hour time limit. Students must complete the test within the same school day. Campuses should use a clock or a timer to monitor test time. 

Grade 3 Answer Documents:
Students taking STAAR grade 3 reading and mathematics assessments will now record their responses on a separate answer document. Grade 3 students will no longer record their answers to test items in a scorable test booklet.

Impact on Grade Advancement:
The Student Success Initiative requires that students in grades 5 and 8 pass both the reading and math exams to be promoted to the next grade.

6th, 7th & 8th Graders
MATH, READING, WRITING, SOCIAL STUDIES & SCIENCE

The STAAR assessments in grades 6 through 8 focuses on content taught during the current year rather than knowledge and skills learned over multiple years.

Middle School Testing

STAAR TESTS BY GRADE LEVEL:

STAAR Time Limits:
Beginning in 2014, the STAAR and STAAR Modified English I and English II assessments will have a five-hour time limit. All other assessments (STAAR, STAAR Spanish, STAAR L, and STAAR Modified) will have a four-hour time limit. Students must complete the test within the same school day. Campuses should use a clock or a timer to monitor test time. 

Impact on Grade Advancement:
The Student Success Initiative requires that students in grades 5 and 8 pass both the reading and math exams to be promoted to the next grade. 

STAAR for High School

The STAAR EOC (End-of-Course) assessments test high school students’ mastery of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for a given course and determine college and career readiness.

STAAR Testing for Grades 9-12

If a student in grade 8 or below is taking a course for which there is a STAAR EOC test, that student will be required to take that particular STAAR EOC assessment. These EOC assessments are for all students graduating after 2014.

Students graduating in 2014 will take the former Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills as part of their graduation requirement.

For more information on graduation requirements, see the State Graduation Requirements page.

Required high school STAAR End-of-Course (EOC) assessments:

• Algebra I

• Biology

• English I (combined reading/writing)

• English II (combined reading/writing)

• U.S. History

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• A student’s performance on an EOC may not be used to determine the student’s class ranking.

• The 15-percent rule – which required a student’s EOC score to count as 15 percent of the student’s grade in each tested subject area – has been eliminated.

• HB 5 limits school districts to two benchmark assessments per school year – these are tests designed specifically to prepare students for a STAAR test. Teachers may still use their own teacher-developed tests during the school year to determine a student’s mastery of a subject – and the various beginning-, mid-, and end-of-year tests provided by the district are not considered benchmarks because they are not tied to STAAR.