STAAR Is Going Away: What the Student Success Tool Means for Your Classroom

After years of debate, it is official: STAAR is being replaced. Governor Abbott signed HB 8 into law in September 2025 during the 89th Legislature’s 2nd Called Session, and the bill sets a clear timeline for phasing out the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness and phasing in what the legislature is calling the Student Success Tool (SST).

If you are a Texas teacher, this affects your planning, your instruction, and your professional reality. But the details matter far more than the headlines, and the headlines have already generated a lot of confusion in hallways and group chats across the state. This guide walks through exactly what is changing, when it changes, what stays the same for now, and what you should be doing to prepare.

The Big Picture: What HB 8 Actually Does

HB 8 does not simply rename STAAR. It restructures how Texas students in grades 3-8 are assessed by moving from a single high-stakes end-of-year test to a three-window testing model. The new assessment system is called the Student Success Tool, and it takes effect in the 2027-28 school year.

Here is the core shift: instead of one STAAR administration in the spring, students will be assessed at three points during the year:

Beginning-of-Year (BOY) window
Middle-of-Year (MOY) window
End-of-Year (EOY) window

This applies to grades 3-8 and Spanish assessments in grades 3-5.

The idea behind the three-window model is to give teachers diagnostic and growth data throughout the year rather than a single summative score that arrives weeks after testing. In theory, this transforms a state assessment from something that only measures students at the end into something that informs instruction along the way.

Whether it actually reduces testing burden or simply formalizes what many districts already do with benchmark assessments is a fair question, and we will address that further down.

End-of-Course Exams: What Changes and What Does Not

The EOC landscape under HB 8 is more nuanced than the grades 3-8 changes. Here is the breakdown.

EOC Subjects Still Tested

The following End-of-Course exams remain under the Student Success Tool:

Algebra I
Biology
English I
U.S. History

For these subjects, the BOY and MOY windows are optional. Districts can choose to administer them for diagnostic purposes, but they are not required. The EOY administration remains the required assessment for accountability and graduation purposes.

English II EOC: Eliminated Entirely

This is one of the most significant changes in HB 8. The English II End-of-Course exam is eliminated — not just the test itself, but the graduation requirement tied to it. Starting with the 2027-28 school year, students will no longer need to take or pass the English II EOC to graduate.

For English II teachers, this is a major shift. You will still teach English II, and the TEKS still apply, but there will be no state-mandated EOC assessment attached to the course.

Transition Classes: 2026 and 2027 Graduates

If you are teaching students in the graduating classes of 2026 or 2027, nothing changes for them regarding English II. These students are still under the current STAAR requirements and must pass the English II EOC (or qualify through an Individual Graduation Committee pathway) to graduate.

The English II elimination applies to students graduating in 2028 and beyond.

The Transition Timeline: Year by Year

Understanding the timeline is critical for planning. Here is how the next few years play out.

2025-26 School Year (Right Now)

STAAR continues as normal. The Student Success Tool does not exist yet. Your students will take the same STAAR assessments in the same testing windows you are used to.

There is one small regulatory change: the prohibition on testing during the first Monday of each testing window has been repealed. Previously, districts could not administer STAAR on the first Monday of a testing window. That restriction is gone. This is a minor scheduling flexibility, not a major instructional shift, but it is worth noting if you are involved in campus testing coordination.

Everything else about 2025-26 STAAR — the format, the reporting categories, the performance levels, the progress measures — remains the same.

2026-27 School Year

This is the final year of STAAR as we know it. TEA will be preparing for the SST rollout, and districts should begin receiving guidance on what the new assessments will look like. Expect pilot programs, informational webinars, and a lot of communication from TEA and your district’s testing coordinators.

If you teach an EOC subject, your students still take the STAAR EOC this year. If you teach English II, your students still take the English II EOC.

2027-28 School Year

The Student Success Tool officially launches. Grades 3-8 students take assessments in all three windows (BOY, MOY, EOY). EOC subjects shift to the new framework with required EOY and optional BOY/MOY. English II EOC is gone.

This is also the year the A-F accountability system undergoes its scheduled refresh (more on that below).

2028 and Beyond

The new CCMR (College, Career, and Military Readiness) indicators take effect. Notably, passing the ASVAB and completing JROTC will count as a military readiness indicator starting in 2028. This is a new pathway that did not exist under the prior system.

Faster Score Turnaround

One of the most practical changes under the Student Success Tool is the expected improvement in score reporting speed. Under STAAR, teachers typically waited approximately two weeks for results to come back. Under the SST, TEA is targeting a turnaround of approximately two days.

If this holds true, it fundamentally changes how useful state assessment data can be for instruction. A two-week delay means results arrive after you have already moved on to the next unit. A two-day turnaround means you can use SST results to adjust instruction in near-real-time, reteach concepts that students missed, and regroup students based on current data.

This is especially meaningful in the BOY and MOY windows. If September BOY results come back within two days, you can use that data to shape your instruction for the entire fall semester. If January MOY results come back quickly, you have time to intervene before the EOY window.

That said, the two-day target is ambitious. Whether TEA and its testing vendors can deliver on that promise at scale remains to be seen. Plan optimistically but prepare for the reality that first-year implementation may not hit that mark perfectly.

Accountability: The A-F System Refresh

HB 8 does not eliminate the A-F campus and district accountability system, but it does change how the system evolves over time.

Under the new law:

The A-F accountability framework must be refreshed every five years. The next scheduled refresh aligns with the 2027-28 school year — the same year the SST launches.
TEA must communicate any accountability changes at least two years in advance. This means schools will not be blindsided by sudden shifts in how ratings are calculated.
Annual changes to accountability indicators must be announced by July 15 of each year.

For campus administrators and teachers who track accountability metrics closely, this is meaningful. It means the rules of the game will be more transparent and predictable. You will know by mid-July what indicators matter for the coming school year, and major structural changes will come with a two-year heads-up.

How exactly the A-F system will incorporate three-window SST data instead of single-administration STAAR data is still being worked out. Expect TEA to release detailed guidance as 2027-28 approaches.

Grade-Specific Impact: What This Means for You

Grades 3-5 Teachers

You will see the most significant change in your daily work. Your students will take the SST three times per year instead of once. If you teach in a bilingual or dual-language program, Spanish assessments in grades 3-5 also follow the three-window model.

The upside is more data throughout the year. The downside is more testing days on the calendar. The net effect on instructional time depends on how long each testing window is and how your district schedules it.

Start thinking now about how you will use BOY data to set baseline expectations and how MOY data will inform your spring instruction. If you already use a diagnostic like MAP, NWEA, or a district benchmark at the beginning and middle of the year, the SST may feel familiar — it just carries state-level weight.

Grades 6-8 Teachers

The same three-window structure applies to you. Middle school teachers in tested subjects (math, reading/ELA, science in 8th grade, social studies in 8th grade) should prepare for assessments at three points during the year.

The key planning question for middle school is scheduling. With multiple subjects tested, the logistical burden of three testing windows across several content areas could be significant. Work with your administration and testing coordinator early to understand how your campus plans to handle the calendar.

High School EOC Teachers (Algebra I, Biology, English I, U.S. History)

Your required assessment remains the EOY exam. The BOY and MOY windows are available to you as optional diagnostic tools. Whether your district opts into those optional windows is a campus or district-level decision.

If your district does opt into BOY and MOY for EOC subjects, think of those as formalized benchmarks with state-level item quality. They can give you useful data about where students stand relative to the EOC standards. If your district does not opt in, your assessment reality stays largely the same — one high-stakes test at the end of the course.

English II Teachers

Your EOC is gone starting 2027-28. This does not mean English II becomes less important — the TEKS still drive your curriculum, and your district will still evaluate student mastery of those standards. But the state will no longer attach a high-stakes test to the course.

What this means practically: you have more freedom to design authentic assessments, spend less time on test-prep formatting, and focus more on the reading and writing skills that matter. It also means you lose one external data point that validated student performance, so you may need to work with your department and district to establish meaningful internal assessments.

Non-Tested Subject Teachers

If you teach a subject or grade that is not assessed by STAAR (art, music, PE, electives, K-2), the SST does not directly change your assessment landscape. However, the shift to three testing windows could affect your schedule if your campus needs to reallocate time and space for additional testing days.

Does the Three-Window Model Actually Reduce Testing?

This is the question many teachers are asking, and it deserves an honest answer.

The three-window model looks very similar to what many Texas districts already do with interim assessments like MAP, NWEA, or locally developed benchmarks. If your district currently administers a BOY diagnostic, a MOY benchmark, and then STAAR in the spring, you are already functionally testing three times per year.

If the SST replaces those district-level interim assessments, then total testing could stay the same or even decrease slightly. If districts continue their own benchmarks on top of the SST, students could end up testing more than they do now.

The answer depends heavily on how individual districts respond. Watch for your district’s communication about whether the SST will replace existing benchmark assessments or be layered on top of them. Push for clarity on this point — it directly affects your instructional time.

What Teachers Should Do Right Now

You have over a year before the SST takes effect. Here is how to use that time wisely.

1. Do Not Panic or Overhaul Your Instruction

The 2025-26 school year is still a STAAR year. Teach your curriculum, prepare your students for the current assessment, and do everything you normally do. The SST is not here yet, and changing your approach prematurely based on incomplete information helps no one.

2. Get Comfortable With Diagnostic-Driven Instruction

If you are not already using beginning-of-year and middle-of-year data to drive your instruction, start practicing now. The SST’s three-window model rewards teachers who know how to look at diagnostic data, identify student needs, and adjust instruction accordingly.

Use whatever diagnostic data you currently have — MAP scores, district benchmarks, your own pre-assessments — and build the habit of data-driven grouping and differentiation. When the SST arrives, this skill set will be second nature.

3. Watch for TEA Guidance

TEA is required to communicate accountability changes at least two years in advance and publish annual changes by July 15. Pay attention to TEA’s official channels for SST updates, sample items, and implementation guidance. Your district’s testing coordinator should also be a key source of information.

4. Talk to Your Team

Discuss the transition with your grade-level or department team. What questions do you have? What concerns? What opportunities do you see in the three-window model? Having these conversations early means your team can plan collaboratively rather than react individually when 2027-28 arrives.

5. Consider the TIA Connection

If you are pursuing or hold a TIA designation, think about how the shift from a single STAAR growth measure to a three-window growth measure might affect your student growth data. The SST’s multiple data points could actually strengthen your growth narrative by showing consistent student progress throughout the year rather than a single snapshot. Keep an eye on how TEA and your district plan to calculate student growth under the new system.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is STAAR gone after this year?

No. STAAR continues through the 2026-27 school year. The Student Success Tool replaces STAAR starting in 2027-28. This school year (2025-26) and next school year (2026-27) are both still STAAR years.

Do students still have to pass the English II EOC?

Students in the graduating classes of 2026 and 2027 must still pass the English II EOC (or use the IGC pathway). Starting with the class of 2028, the English II EOC requirement is eliminated.

Will the SST be computer-based?

HB 8 does not specify the delivery format in detail, but given that STAAR has been administered online since 2023, it is reasonable to expect the SST will continue as a computer-based assessment. Watch for TEA guidance on specific platform and format details.

How long will each testing window take?

This has not been specified yet. The length and structure of each testing window will be determined by TEA as it develops the SST. This is one of the most important details to watch for, as it directly affects how much instructional time is consumed by testing.

Will the SST still use TEKS-aligned questions?

Yes. The Student Success Tool will assess the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, just as STAAR does. The underlying standards are not changing — the assessment vehicle is.

What happens to STAAR progress measures for TIA?

TEA has not yet released detailed guidance on how student growth will be calculated under the SST for TIA purposes. However, the three-window model should provide more growth data points. Stay tuned for TEA announcements about how student growth percentiles or equivalent measures will work under the new system.

Does the ASVAB/JROTC pathway affect my students?

If you teach JROTC or have students considering military careers, this is relevant. Starting in 2028, students who pass the ASVAB and complete JROTC can count that toward their College, Career, and Military Readiness indicator. This is a new pathway that expands the definition of career readiness under the accountability system.

Can my district opt out of the BOY and MOY windows?

For grades 3-8, the BOY and MOY windows are part of the SST framework and are expected to be required. For EOC subjects, the BOY and MOY windows are optional at the district level. Watch for TEA’s final implementation rules to confirm the specific requirements.

The Bigger Picture

The move from STAAR to the Student Success Tool reflects a broader national trend away from single-shot, high-stakes summative assessments and toward systems that assess students multiple times per year to measure growth and inform instruction. States like Georgia, Nebraska, and Louisiana have adopted or are exploring similar models.

For Texas teachers, the practical takeaway is this: the emphasis is shifting from “How did students perform on one test in April?” to “How did students grow across the entire year?” That is a meaningful philosophical shift, and it aligns with what most good teachers already believe about assessment — that a single data point does not tell the whole story.

Whether the Student Success Tool lives up to its name depends on implementation. If the BOY and MOY windows provide genuinely useful diagnostic data with fast turnaround, and if districts use the SST to replace rather than supplement existing benchmarks, this could be a real improvement. If it becomes three high-stakes tests instead of one, with results that take too long to be actionable, teachers and students will not benefit.

The transition period between now and 2027-28 is your opportunity to prepare. Learn to use diagnostic data effectively. Build routines around data-driven instruction. Watch for TEA guidance. And when the SST arrives, you will be ready — not because you crammed for a new test, but because you built the instructional habits that any good assessment system rewards.

Wondering how testing changes affect TIA? Read our guide to how STAAR scores connect to TIA designation and the complete TIA guide for everything you need to know about earning your designation.