House Bill 3906
House Bill (HB) 3906, passed by the 86th Texas Legislature in 2019, addresses several components related to assessments and administration, including expanding input from educators and providing more flexibility at the campus level for test administration.
Highlights of HB 3906 include:
STAAR Redesign
A redesign of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®) test is currently underway. Watch the videos and learn more about the complete STAAR redesign. The changes include:
- Transitioning to online assessments by the 2022–23 school year
- Adding new item types and capping the percentage of multiple-choice items
- Eliminating stand-alone writing assessments for grades 4 and 7 and incorporating cross-curricular passages to assess new reading language arts Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)
Assessment Educator Advisory Committee
To meet HB 3906 requirements, TEA established a new Assessment Educator Advisory Committee in January 2020. This committee and its sub-committees meet regularly to discuss HB 3906 initiatives and advise the commissioner and TEA on academically appropriate state assessment instruments. The committee members are experts in curriculum and instruction, higher education and school leadership, and individuals with experience supporting special populations.
STAAR Interim Assessments
HB 3906 also requires TEA to continue development and administration of STAAR Interim Assessments—a free, optional online tool for districts and open-enrollment charter schools to monitor progress and predict student performance on the STAAR test. Interim assessments are available for all STAAR-tested grades and subjects. Educators and test administrators are encouraged to watch the STAAR Interim Assessments Overview video.
Texas Through-year Assessment Pilot (TTAP)
TEA is developing a through-year assessment pilot that features three progress monitoring opportunities during the school year and has the potential to eventually replace the single summative assessment model. This pilot aims to provide students, educators, and parents with a number of benefits, including:
- More timely and frequent feedback throughout the year
- Multiple opportunities for students to show what they’ve learned
- Potential to provide in-year growth information
