State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR)

Introduced in 2012, the STAAR program assesses reading and mathematics for all students in grades 3-8, writing for students in grades 4 and 7, science for students in grades 5 and 8, and social studies for students in grade 8.

For high school students there are five STAAR end-of-course (EOC) assessments: English I, English II, Algebra I, Biology, and U.S. History. Beginning spring 2016, English III and Algebra II will be administered on a voluntary basis.

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) provides extensive STAAR resources on its website. The resources are intended to help individuals understand how the STAAR program measures the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) curriculum standards. The resources are intended to support, not narrow or replace, the teaching of the state-mandated curriculum, the TEKS.