To the Administrator Addressed (TAA) Correspondence

School Year 2027–28 Student Assessment Testing Calendar

The 2027–28 Student Assessment Testing Calendar has been redesigned to address changes to the Texas Assessment Program required by House Bill (HB) 8, 89th Texas Legislature, 2nd Called Session, 2025. The proposed calendar has been posted on the Test Administration Resources web page of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) website for public comment. This calendar includes, as established by law:

  • testing dates for the beginning-of-year (BOY), middle-of-year (MOY), and end-of-year (EOY) administrations of the instructionally supportive assessment program referred to as the Student Success Tool (SST), which replaces the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®) starting with the 2027–28 school year (the last administration of STAAR will be spring 2027 for grades 3–8 and December 2027 for end of course);
  • earlier testing dates for the writing portion of reading language arts (RLA), to allow time for scoring to be completed and combined with the remainder of the RLA assessment scores; and
  • a stand-alone field-testing window.

SST delivers progress monitoring closely aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), enhancing instructional value through adaptive BOY and MOY assessments. Its administration via online platform enables compliance with HB 8 requirements, including item-level and passage-level (RLA) adaptivity that dynamically adjusts to each student's demonstrated mastery. Its streamlined test design reduces student testing time compared to STAAR, while rapid reporting supports timely instructional decision-making: EOY results are available within 48 hours of the close of the assessment window, with same-day results for BOY and MOY assessments by the second year of implementation.

Building on STAAR's core strengths, SST draws from an item bank vetted by current Texas public school teachers, with all items approved by grade- and subject-specific committees to ensure rigorous TEKS alignment. It maintains the most comprehensive set of universal accessibility accommodations available, closely mirroring those used during everyday instruction. Together, these features establish a strong foundation for Texas's transition to a new, student-centered assessment system.

The testing calendar maintains:

  • the six-week testing window for the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) and TELPAS Alternate;
  • the five-week testing window for the SST Alternate assessment, previously STAAR Alternate 2; and
  • reporting dates and time frames for state-mandated components of the Texas Assessment Program, including updated reporting requirements mandated by HB 8.

In addition, a version of the 2026–27 Student Assessment Testing Calendar that has been updated to include a stand-alone field-testing window is also available. 

Public comments on the 2027–28 Student Assessment Testing Calendar should be sent to Test.Calendar@tea.texas.gov by Thursday, April 16, 2026. 

Questions

For questions about HB 8, please see House Bill 8 Frequently Asked Questions on the 89th Legislature Updates page of the TEA website. For general questions about the Texas Assessment Program, contact TEA using the Student Assessment Help Desk.