Based on stakeholder feedback, the Student Assessment Division at TEA and Cambium Assessment, Inc. (CAI) have updated the Texas Assessment Program for the 2025-2026 school year. This article explores the STAAR student assessment updates for 2025-2026.
New Science TEKS on STAAR and STAAR Interim Assessments
The State Board of Education (SBOE) adopted new Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for science in 2021. They were implemented in classroom instruction during the 2023-2024 school year. This school year, the new science TEKS will be fully implemented into the Spring 2026 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) and the 2025-2026 STAAR Interim Assessments. The December 2025 STAAR Biology EOC will be based on the 2024-2025 transition year TEKS.
Blueprints, reference materials, and assessed curriculum documents are on the STAAR Science Resources webpage.
The grade 5 STAAR Science assessment is now named the Elementary School STAAR Science assessment. The grade 8 STAAR Science assessment is now titled the Middle School STAAR Science assessment. The Middle School STAAR Science reference document has been changed. Students no longer need the density or work formulas, but do need multiple versions of the net force formula.
Augmentative and Alternative Communication Devices
A student with appropriate IEP documentation may use augmentative and alternative communication devices for STAAR testing. Phrase-level prediction must be disabled.
STAAR Interim Assessments
Students may now only take the math and reading STAAR Interim Assessments twice during each testing window. Students completing opportunity 1 of a science or social studies STAAR Interim Assessment must wait at least 60 days before opportunity 2. In order for a student to retake a STAAR Interim Assessment, an appeal request must be submitted in TIDE. This will result in the erasure of any data from the student’s first attempt.
Student Test Tickets
Staff may print student test tickets once at the beginning of the school year. If students do not write on their tickets during a test administration, staff can reuse those tickets for multiple administrations.
Store student test tickets in a secure location when they are not in use, and destroy them after the test administration or at the end of the school year.
Practice vs. Optional Testing Site
To help teachers and students differentiate between the practice test site and the operational test, each now has its own background color. The practice test site is green, and the operation site is blue.
Response Entry
The Data Entry Interface (DEI) is now the Response Entry (RE).
Centralized Reporting System
Beginning with the Spring 2026 STAAR results, TIDE users will be able to download student constructed responses (both short and extended) directly from the Centralized Reporting System (CRS). Users can choose to download responses by district, campus, or roster (depending on their TIDE access). Responses are downloaded in PDF format to the user’s Secure File Center.
Test Delivery System
During testing, students will have a more visual representation of the various system settings they can change (zoom level, background, and/or font color, mouse pointer size, and color).
TEA and CAI updated the strikethrough tool to better display eliminated answers while still allowing students to see which choices they removed.
These changes are available on the Practice Test site.
Hotline Direct
Beginning in the winter of 2025-2026, CAI will implement a new system, Hotline Direct, to handle alerts from student writing and speaking responses. The new system will allow better access to the alerts and allow school systems to better monitor their responses to the alerts. The District Testing Coordinator (DTC) and District Testing Assistant (DTA) roles in TIDE will have default access to Hotline Direct. A new TIDE role, Hotline Direct Assistant (HDA), is available to give campus-level access to Hotline Direct.
Conclusion
Please check with your District Testing Coordinator (DTC) or Campus Testing Coordinator (CTS) if you have further questions about state assessments. They help you understand how your district implements local policies and procedures.
Visit our STAAR website for more resources, tools, and training opportunities throughout the year. Read additional articles focused on STAAR here.
Still have questions about STAAR student assessment updates? Reach out to us at staar@esc13.txed.net
Compliance Notice
This publication complies with all federal and state nondiscrimination laws. The Texas Education Agency and its partners serve every student with fairness, accuracy, and respect. They administer all instructional updates and assessments on an equal and neutral basis to all students, without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or any other protected characteristic.
Butch has worked with testing and accountability for over 15 years at the campus, district, regional, and state levels. Originally from North Carolina, Butch is the State Assessment Specialist for the Education Service Center Region 13, helping district test coordinators and others navigate the world of STAAR and TELPAS testing. He is available to answer any of your state testing policy and procedure questions.
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