STAAR FAQs

Required STAAR tests vary by grade level as follows:

• mathematics and reading — grades 3-8
• science — grades 5 and 8
• social studies — grade 8
• STAAR end‐of‐course assessments (required for high school graduation) include Algebra I, English I, English II, Biology, and U.S. History.

Two types of test questions are released for the STAAR program — sample questions and test forms. Sample test questions are small subsets of test questions released from the STAAR test banks. These test questions may have been previously administered. A test form is a set of test questions previously administered together, which reflects the STAAR test blueprints. To see sample test questions, visit the Released Test Questions page.

Students are expected to complete STAAR tests in about three hours; however, any student who needs additional time may continue testing until the end of the school day.

STAAR measures grade level concepts and skills that students need to learn to stay on track from year to year. It is a cumulative test that happens at the end of the year to allow teachers to see how much a student has learned over the past year and where they may still need support. STAAR measures how well students met the grade level expectations in each subject determined by the Texas State Board of Education in partnership with educators. It shows how prepared a student is for the next grade level, and where they may need additional support to accelerate learning.

STAAR is only one way to measure learning, and it isn’t meant to tell the whole story. It’s meant to be combined with report card grades, teacher input, and classwork, to give families and teachers a more complete picture of student learning.

For students with special needs, the admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee makes the decision for each student based on the disability. These may be testing supports or other allowable accommodations approved in advance. More information can be found on the Accommodation Resources page.

Language Proficiency Assessment Committees (LPACs) decide what kinds of accommodations make sense for English learners (ELs). STAAR Spanish may be right for students in bilingual programs who are receiving most of their academic instruction in Spanish, or sometimes for an EL in an ESL program. Decisions about which students meet the participation requirements are made on a case‐by‐case basis. Visit the LPAC Resources page for more information.

The basic checklist for parents to help their child be ready for STAAR tests includes:

• Setting regular teacher meetings to discuss goals
• Reviewing sample STAAR questions and tests available
• Practicing at home with free online tutorials and learning tools
• Making sure your child gets a good night’s sleep the night before test day

The STAAR test provides scores for students using both scale scores and raw scores. The basic score on any test is the raw score, which is simply the number of questions answered correctly. Scale scores convert the raw score onto a scale that is common to all test forms for that assessment, taking into account the difficulty level of the specific questions on the test. The scale score determines a student’s performance according to passing standards or proficiency levels. To learn more, visit the STAAR Performance Standards page.

For assistance with or questions about any assessment program, please contact the Student Assessment Division of the Texas Education Agency using the  Student Assessment Help Desk or by calling (512) 463-9536.