House Bill 8: Student Assessment

House Bill (HB) 8, 89th Texas Legislature, 2nd Called Session, 2025, was passed in September 2025.

Student Assessment

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Contact Information

For additional information, contact TEA using the Student Assessment Help Desk or call 512-463-9536.

Student Assessment Help Desk

This bill introduces significant changes to the Texas Assessment Program beginning in the 2027–28 school year. These changes include replacing the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®) with a new instructionally supportive assessment program which may be called the Student Success Tool (SST) for Texas public school systems (i.e., public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools).

Resources

Call for House Bill 8 (HB 8) Alternative BOY & MOY Assessment Instruments 

HB 8 Frequently Asked Questions 

Assessment Program Changes Effective with 2025–26 School Year

Four specific changes from HB 8 go into effect starting in December 2025 (4)

Monday Testing

The policy stated in Texas Education Code (TEC) §39.023(c-3) that prohibits the administration of STAAR on the first Monday of each testing window has been repealed. STAAR assessments may now be administered on Monday of week 1 without the submission of a Monday testing notice. School systems continue to have the flexibility of scheduling assessments during two-week testing windows and may decide not to test on a Monday. TEA has updated the District and Campus Coordinator Resources, the 2025–26 STAAR Test Administrator Manual, the 2025–26 and 2026–27 Student Assessment Testing Calendars, and the online version of the 2025–26 Calendar of Events to reflect this legislative change. These updated resources are available on the Test Administration Resources page of the TEA website.

Test Anxiety Mitigation

HB 8 amended TEC §39.0301(a-1) to require the commissioner to ensure that test administration procedures include instructions to help mitigate potential student test anxiety. To help put students at ease, starting this school year, TEA has updated the onscreen directions students read on their own and the directions that test administrators must read to students just prior to beginning a STAAR assessment. The new language is included in the updated 2025–26 STAAR Test Administrator Manual. TEA will be exploring additional changes for the new assessment program that goes into effect in the 2027–28 school year.  

Results Notification

HB 8 amended TEC §26.005 to require school systems to provide parents and guardians access to the Texas Assessment Family Portal through a local parent portal and to notify parents and guardians each time state assessment results are available. Resources on connecting local parent portals and setting up automated access emails are available on The Family Portal page of the Coordinator Resources. Communication templates and additional materials to help notify parents about assessment results are available on the Log In & Learn More Tool Kit page of the TEA website.

Simplified Access to Results

TEC §26.005 was also amended to require TEA to provide parents and guardians with easy access to their child’s state assessment results via the Texas Assessment Family Portal. TEA is in the process of updating the Family Portal login screen to comply with this requirement.